me
Pans
Wine
i i
at
uy
eee! ane Lanes
ta)
i Mh hh i" i i” ;
Y :
‘. ATO
; Ae ay i :
" Yi
i : i
hy At 4
i
ae
bh Pare
ir
Lf
i
aay) wa
en By
Ry via ye .
Wee tae
"ANNUAL _ REPORT OF THE
BOARD OF REGENTS OF
THE SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION ©
ia _ SHOWING THE
- ae OPERATIONS, _ EXPENDITURES, AND
ap _ CONDITION OF THE INSTITUTION
alee : be Se. THE YEAR ENDING ee 30
SAN sunasonts INSTITUTION
WASHINGTON
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
BOARD OF REGENTS OF
THE SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION
SHOWING THE
OPERATIONS, EXPENDITURES, AND
CONDITION OF THE INSTITUTION
FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30
1932
(Publication 3185)
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1933
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. Ces =) = har Price 70 cents (Paper cover)
LETTER
FROM THE
SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
SUBMITTING
THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE
INSTITUTION FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 1932
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
Washington, November 80, 1982.
Yo the Congress of the United States:
In accordance with section 5593 of the Revised Statutes of the
United States, I have the honor, in behalf of the Board of Regents,
to submit to Congress the annual report of the operations, expendi-
tures, and condition of the Smithsonian Institution for the year
ended June 30, 1932. I have the honor to be,
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
C. G. Aspor, Secretary.
Til
ovriverrent ed \anainacue ae a6 |
Lan
We ni y) i
My |
- 5 |
CONTENTS
Outstanding events of, the year. 2-22-22) 2-2 ee ee
dthevestablishmentiac 5 see Sree Same Sh, eh nOs See
Wherbosrdiot egents su. sere sales ye ae eS
TRU a GY eye Se Oa en Wi Sg IE eR
Mattersrob cemerad lintereg basa eee eee ee etree
Dwight Wee Viorraw bequests” ==... o» 25s 70248
Research Corporation awards to Doctors Douglass and Antevs---
NGG CG ULC Sos ere ve eH Une INU EELS CBr he ear
Cooperative ethnological and archeological investigations_------
Rixploraciomsnaia cette) Gl sy Tk ess ee ee
1 21] ON UVC CO) Yj as Sige ees ay eis hear ae eee ee eee
GTI a ys ee ee eae IE hee ee a eee CG, ee Ae PR pens eres coer
Governmentally supported branches-_--------------------
INaciomaleiVin Semin sere ee ee ee ee ays Deed
Nationals Gallery OlsArh: 42.004 ee OE eee ed Se
nGernG aller yaxOlwAM Gp ye ie. nk vere os ek
Bureaw of American Hihnelogy. 22-4. 262 +o2-4- eee
mitern ational Hixcliean Ges mp see ee eye ee ee
iNavionalyZoolosical bar Kemer ae ere ere oe ee
Astrophysical Observatory ae ese ee a ae eee
Division of Radiation and Organisms!_____._._.._.-_--
International Catalogue of Scientific Literature __-—-___-
19) (CE ERD Y Fey 71 Map SS a fl SU NR Aa i ante epg to eS
Appendix
. Report on the National Gallery of Art._-_--
. Report on the Freer Gallery of Art___-_----
. Report on the United States National Museum_____------
. Report on the Bureau of American Ethnology-_-----------
. Report on the National Zoological Park ____-
. Report on the Astrophysical Observatory ----
. Report on the Division of Radiation and Organisms_ -- ---
. Report on the International Catalogue of Scientific Litera-
#0; Report-on, the liprary.2 ete Ve
di Report.on publications222 22225222222 es.
Report of the executive committee of the Board of Regents
Proceedings of the Board of Regents.___.__........_-__--
1[In part govermentally supported.
1
2
3
4
5. Report on the International Exchange Service____--------
6
7
8
9
a}
©
09
@
kh
CODHDHINRAAROWNYNHEHG
vI CONTENTS
GENERAL APPENDIX
Solar radiation; byiC. G. JAD bOb2 oes a a 2 See Dice i nee
Variable:stars,by/li. Vi; Robinsons... oe 220 Vaile. Vee see eee
The master key of science: Revealing the universe through the spectro-
scope, by#Eenry Norris) Russellag2 eae seen ie ae es ee eee
The decline of determinism, by Sir Arthur Eddington_-_-_--__-________--
The “measurement of noise, by G: WaGs-Kayes. 2! [202 Nese eee
The’ ‘age of the earth and the age of the ocean, by Adolph Knopf__-_---__-
A contribution to the geological history of the North Atlantic region, by
Alper tnGillig ane ec 22S TS ee aS a ae ee ee
The meteorite craters at Henbury, central Australia, by Arthur Richard
SAC Che reray bias ay Seed ata NS ee ee eS PEA a ee
Some geographical results of the Byrd Antarctic expedition, by Laurence
INU CG aL cre ee eth a RR eg ea et ee ee
Some phases of modern deep-sea oceanography, with a description of some
of the equipment and methods of the newly formed Woods Hole Oceano-
eraphic Institution, by C.'O7D. Tselinpihee eee tee eee
Safety devices in wings of birds, by Lieut. Commander R. R. Graham__-
Through forest and jungle in Kashmir and other parts of north India, by
GasevaN WOOd 2. 2 = 205 =e ee ee reek Anya rar a Se Ce
A decade of bird banding in America: A review, by Frederick C. Lincoln__
Insect enemies of insects and their relation to agriculture, by Curtis P.
Olas Oe eo Se Sls Se ee ae ee eee a eae eee
Plamtirecords.oL the TOCKS, Dy +A aw SOW el Cs a ae ee eg ee eee
Cultivating algae for scientific research by Florence E. Meier_-_--_---_-~-_-
The present status of light therapy: Scientific and practical aspects, by
1G Peace ap vl Uf) spam ISTE La emu Re Reg Ua eae Vinyl pid yO) elo
The rise of man and modern research, by James H. Breasted_________-
Mohenjo-Daro and the ancient civilization of the Indus Valley, by Doro-
hvaWlae ay = 5a eh Se A ON SR a ee a
IHistoricalycycies) by O2 G. 1S: Crawiord sees ee eee
The ‘‘great wall of Peru’”’ and other aerial photographie studies by the
Shippee-Johnson Peruvian expedition, by Robert Shippee------------
Status of woman in Iroquois polity before 1784, by J. N. B. Hewitt__-__-
461
475
LIST OF PLATES
i¢ Page
Solar radiation (Abbot) :
DEUCES el seh re coe tee Ns et ee oer es eB Rte PSNI SE ER ek Sh 120
Master key of science (Russell) :
LACES ilk pe meee ere tay at can, Sepals EIN Ea Sus LE als Sei a oe ee 140
Meteorite craters (Alderman) :
BAU eR a ea I ee ee a Se eee aa ye ek Pha hee RIE = 24
Byrd Antarctic expedition (Gould) :
ET SG Ss oe] Oa eee a WA ee ee NI a a eM OE a he 250
Oceanography (Iselin) :
IPI ate ciel Ars Seles i 2 | Ba ee ee SNS EY PUN SS i ETON 2 TaN SES BY ENS 268
North India (Wood) :
1 Bd eye) [a eae ee a ee Pee Se PRE EAE cs Shee Oi eae a REA ge es Ca eee SPN Lat 026
Bird banding (Lincoln) :
AESSU LESS pel at eo cae meee ee eM ee SPL coe: SL Ee SE be ak td Le 3, a eae 352
Algae (Meier) :
VENUE SIS TLE Seat Se eA Pe a OA MR er A ATER Sn 384
Light therapy (Mayer) :
DAIS oe wal DERI STA A Gl NEE Cm ey ae Wd WOR POL SUNY ue CO rer es ae I AY RUE SEL 410
Rise of man (Breasted) :
DEMS Hye TI 8s Sh Na asec Lhe ah SS ec All agen) Marta mas UM el UEP 428
Mohenjo-Daro (Mackay) :
YEE EES a a a A I sa ON Se es ie me 444
Historical cycles (Crawford) :
TSA ENS SY LEZ Sas PS sO Rope NO AR MTR Se NN a EN at ApH al nes des SER _ 460
Great Wall of Peru (Shippee) :
BUSY ore Sipe fe) WO ce Ni LS a Ace peal ANN De tA I 474
'
) atta
dy Rit
arnt bo dahathe wt oh
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE SMITHSONIAN
INSTITUTION FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 380, 1982
SUBJECTS
1. Annual report of the secretary, giving an account of the opera-
tions and conditions of the Institution for the year ending June 380,
1932, with statistics of exchanges, etc.
2. Report of the executive committee of the Board of Regents,
exhibiting the financial affairs of the Institution, including a state-
ment of the Smithsonian fund, and receipts and expenditures for
the year ending June 30, 1932. ;
3. Proceedings of the Board of Regents for the fiscal year ending
June 80, 1982.
4. General appendix, comprising a selection of miscellaneous
memoirs of interest to collaborators and correspondents of the Insti-
tution, teachers, and others engaged in the promotion of knowledge.
These memoirs relate chiefly to the calendar year 1932.
Ix
i a
} Naty sie
THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
June 30, 1952
Presiding officer ex officio HrrpertT Hoover, President of the United States.
Chancellor—CHARLES Evans Hueues, Chief Justice of the United States.
Members of the Institution:
HERBERT Hoover, President of the United States.
CHARLES CurRTIS, Vice President of the United States.
CHARLES Evans HucHeEs, Chief Justice of the United States.
Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of State.
OcpEN L. Mitts, Secretary of the Treasury.
Parrick J. Hurtry, Secretary of War.
WiLu1aM D. MitcHeryi, Attorney General.
WALTER EF’. Brown, Postmaster General.
CHARLES FRANcIS ADAMS, Secretary of the Navy.
Ray LyMAn WIsBur, Secretary of the Interior.
ArTHUR M. Hyonks, Secretary of Agriculture.
Roy D. CHAPIN, Secretary of Commerce.
WixtuiAM N. Doak, Secretary of Labor.
Regents of the Institution:
CHARLES Evans Hucues, Chief Justice of the United States, Chancellor.
CHARLES CurRTIS, Vice President of the United States.
ReED Smoot, Member of the Senate.
JosepH T. Rosprnson, Member of the Senate.
CLAUDE A. SWANSON, Member of the Senate.
ALBERT JOHNSON, Member of the House of Representatives.
T. ALAN GoLDSBOROUGH, Member of the House of Representatives.
Epwarp H. Crump, Member of the House of Representatives.
Irwin B. LAUGHLIN, citizen of Pennsylvania.
FrepERIO A. DELANO, citizen of Washington, D. C.
Joun C. Merriam, citizen of Washington, D. C.
R. Warton Moors, citizen of Virginia.
Rosert W. BINGHAM, citizen of Kentucky.
Avucustus P. Lorine, citizen of Massachusetts.
Ezecutive committee.—Freperic A. DELANO, R. WALTON Moorz, JOHN C.
MERRIAM.
Secretary.—_CHARLES G. ABBOT.
Assistant Secretary—ALEXANDER WETMORE.
Chief Clerk and administrative assistant to the Secretary— HArry W. Dorsey.
Treasurer and disbursing agent.—NIcHoLASsS W. DORSEY.
EHditor.—WeEBSTER P. TRUE.
Librarian.—WILLIAM L. CorBINn.
Appointment clerk.—JAMES G. TRAYLOR.
Property clerk.—JAMES H. HI.
XI
XII ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
NATIONAL MUSEUM
Keeper ex officio.— CHARLES G. ABBOT.
Assistant Secretary (in charge).—ALEXANDER WETMORE.
Associate director.—JOHN EH. GRAF.
Administrative assistant to the Secretary.—WILLIAM DE C, RAVENEL.
Head curators.—WALTER HouGH, LEONHARD STEJNEGER, Ray 8S. BASSLER.
Curators.—PAuL BArtscH, Ray S. BAsster, THEODORE T. BELOTE, AUSTIN H.
Ciark, FREDERICK V. CovinLeE, WILLIAM F. FosHaG, HERBERT FRIEDMANN,
CHESTER G. GinperT, CHARLES W. GILMORE, WALTER HoucH, LELAND O.
Howarp, ALES HrpriéKa, Nery M. Jupp, Herserr W. KRIEGER, FREDERICK L.
LewrTon, Gerrit S. Mitzer, JR. Cart W. MiTMAN, CHartes H. RESSER,
Watpo L. ScHMITT, LEONHARD STEJNEGER, RuEL P. ToLMAN.
Associate curators—JoHN M. AtpricH, ELtswortH P. Kinrip, WirriAmM R.
Maxon, JosepH H. Ritey, DAvip WHITE.
Chief of correspondence and documents.—HeErRBeERT S. BrYAnrT.
Disbursing agent.—NicHoLas W. Dorsey.
Superintendent of buildings and labor.—JAMES S. GOLDSMITH.
Editor.—PavuL H. OEFHSER.
Assistant Librarian.—Lrina G. ForBES.
Photographer.—ARTHUR J. OLMSTED.
Property clerk.—WILLIAM A, KNOWLES.
Engineer.—CLayTon R. DENMARK.
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Director —WiLtiAM H. HOLMES.
FREER GALLERY OF ART
Curator.—JOHN FEXLLERTON LODGE.
Associate curator.—CarL WHITING BISHOP.
Assistant curator—GRAcE DUNHAM GUEST.
Associate.—KATHARINE NASH RHOADES.
Assistant.—ARCHIBALD G. WENLEY.
Superintendent JOHN BUNDY.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
Chief —MatrHew W. STIRLING.
Ethnologists—JoHN P. Harrineton, JoHN N. B. Hewitt, TRUMAN MICHELSON,
JOHN R. SWANTON, WILLIAM D. STRONG.
Archeologist —FRANK H. H. ROBERTs, Jr.
Associate Anthropologist—WINSLOoW M, WALKER.
Editor—STANLEY SEARLES.
Librarian.—EwuaA LEARY.
Illustrator.—Dr LANCEY GILL.
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGES
Secretary (in charge).—CHARLES G. ABBOT.
Chief clerk.—Coatrs W. SHOEMAKER.
NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK
Director.—WiIuIAM M. Mann.
Assistant director —EHRNEST P. WALKER.
THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION XII
ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY
Director.—CHARLES G. ABBOT.
Assistant director—LoyatL B, ALDRICH.
Research assistant —KFREDERICK E. Fow eg, Jr.
Associate research assistant.—WILLIAM H. Hoover.
DIVISION OF RADIATION AND ORGANISMS
Chief —FREDERICK S. BRACKETT.
Research associate —HAr.L 8S. JOHNSTON.
Associate research assistant —H. D. MCALISTER.
Research assistant.—LELAND B. CLARK.
REGIONAL BUREAU FOR THE UNITED STATES, INTERNATIONAL
CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE
Assistant in charge.—LEONARD C, GUNNELL.
REPORT OF; THE
SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
C2 G. ABBOL
FOR THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1932
To the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to submit herewith my report
showing the activities and condition of the Smithsonian Institution
and the Government bureaus under its administrative charge during
the fiscal year ended June 30, 1932. The first 14 pages contain a
summary account of the affairs of the Institution. Appendixes 1
to 11 give more detailed reports of the operations of the United
States National Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the Freer
Gallery of Art, the Bureau of American Ethnology, the Interna-
tional Exchanges, the National Zoological Park, the Astrophysical
Observatory, the Division of Radiation and Organisms, the United
States Regional Bureau of the International Catalogue of Scientific
Literature, the Smithsonian library, and of the publications issued
under the direction of the Institution.
THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
OUTSTANDING EVENTS OF THE YEAR
Preliminary plans have been completed for the wings authorized
in 1930 to be added to the Natural History Building of the National
Museum; appropriations have not yet been made, however, to begin
construction. An unrestricted bequest of $100,000 was received for
the endowment funds of the Institution from the late Dwight W.
Morrow. Two $2,500 Research Corporation awards were made
through the Institution to Doctors Douglass and Antevs. Two nota-
ble public lectures were given at the Institution, the first Arthur
Lecture by Dr. Henry Norris Russell and the sixth Hamilton Lec-
ture by Dr. Albert Charles Seward. Volume 12, the last volume of
the Smithsonian Scientific Series, was sent to the printer near the
close of the year. The fifth revised edition of the Smithsonian
Meteorological Tables and the fourth reprint of the Smithsonian
1
2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Mathematical Tables—Hyperbolic Functions—were issued. A con-
siderable number of scientific expeditions were in the field from the
Institution, the National Museum, and the Bureau of American
Ethnology; these expeditions brought back valuable new informa-
tion and collections bearing on the Institution’s researches. The
Director of the National Zoological Park headed an expedition to
British Guiana, returning with 3817 lve animals for the park.
Volume V of the Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory appeared,
presenting the results of its researches on the sun for the past 10
years. New instruments for the solar work were devised, and in-
vestigations were made of periodicities in solar and _ terrestrial
phenomena. The Division of Radiation and Organisms, pursuing
its pioneering experiments in biophysics, measured the carbon-
dioxide assimilation of wheat for different light intensities, made
experiments on the lethal effects of the ultra-violet rays upon algae,
and a study of the effects of different wave-length distributions of
light on the growth of plants. The reduction in the Institution’s
income, both private and governmental, has occasioned strict econ-
omy in all lines and the curtailment of some activities. Its funds
for publication have been cut nearly to one-half of last year’s
amount, with the result that valuable manuscripts have had to be
refused or held up for a year and others have been cut to half their
normal size, as has been done, for instance, with this report.
THE ESTABLISHMENT
The Smithsonian Institution was created by act of Congress in
1846, according to the terms of the will of James Smithson, of Eng-
land, who in 1826 bequeathed his property to the United States of
America “to found at Washington, under the name of the Smith-
sonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of
knowledge among men.” In receiving the property and accepting the
trust, Congress determined that the Federal Government was with-
out authority to administer the trust directly and, therefore, consti-
tuted an “establishment ” whose statutory members are “ the Presi-
dent, the Vice President, the Chief Justice, and the heads of the
executive departments.”
THE BOARD OF REGENTS
The affairs of the Institution are administered by a Board of
Regents whose membership consists of ‘“‘the Vice President, the
Chief Justice, three Members of the Senate, and three Members of
the House of Representatives, together with six other persons other
than Members of Congress, two of whom shall be resident in the city
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 3
of Washington and the other four shall be inhabitants of some State,
but no two of them of the same State.” One of the Regents is elected
chancellor of the board. In the past the selection has fallen upon the
Vice President or the Chief Justice, and a suitable person is chosen
by the Regents as Secretary of the Institution, who is also secretary
of the Board of Regents, and the executive officer directly in charge
of the Institution’s activities.
A number of changes in the personnel of the board occurred dur-
ing the year. The terms as Regents of three congressional mem-
bers expired—Representatives R. Walton Moore, Robert Luce, and
Albert Johnson. Six vacancies on the board were filled by the ap-
pointment or reappointment of three Members of Congress—Repre-
sentatives Albert Johnson, T. Alan Goldsborough, and A. J. Mon-
tague—and three citizen Regents—R. Walton Moore, Virginia; Rob-
ert W. Bingham, Kentucky; and Augustus P. Loring, Massachu-
setts. A.J. Montague having resigned, E. H. Crump was appointed
to succeed him.
The roll of Regents at the close of the year was as follows:
Charles Evans Hughes, Chief Justice of the United States, chan-
cellor; Charles Curtis, Vice President of the United States; Members
from the Senate—Reed Smoot, Joseph T. Robinson, Claude A.
Swanson; Members from the House of Representatives—A bert
Johnson, T. Alan Goldsborough, E. H. Crump; citizen members—
Frederic A. Delano, Washington, D. C.; Irwin B. Laughlin, Penn-
sylvania; John C. Merriam, Washington, D. C.; R. Walton Moore,
Virginia; Robert W. Bingham, Kentucky; Augustus P. Loring,
Massachusetts.
FINANCES
PRIVATE FUNDS
The permanent investments of the Institution consist of the
following:
Total endowment for general or specific purposes (exclusive of
BEPC Tee st 1 10 CLs) ) peace cake eens tied Se Sek SE a a ee de $1, 775, 804. 36
Itemized as follows:
Deposited in the Treasury of the United States, as provided by
Taye eal ee He lL eS MR. Keen rae ne igo. Mra ed SS 1, 000, 000. 00
Deposited in the consolidated fund—
Miscellaneous securities, ete., either purchased or acquired
by, gift; cost or value at date acquired _-- == 8 712, 156. 86
Springer, Frank, fund for researches, etc. (bonds)_________ 13, 835. 00
Younger, Helen Walcott, fund (real-estate notes and stock
HELA ANGEL US ty eesere tee ne wena cs Serre eee cere Bek Me eee 49, 812. 50
PRO tallee Sais Sar ae aha ak iow BARU heal ee NBS: DUNO! LY RTD 1, 775, 804. 36
149571—33—_2
4 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The above-mentioned funds of the Institution are described as
follows:
United States} Consoli- Separate
Fund Treasury | dated fund funds Total
ATUL GAMES MUN Geren. teres SE EE Bek ate ee Pee ee $5031699: 31) [25 See es $50, 699. 31
Bacon iWareIMiAG PUT yest earn) Nee ie ke UES | EU Ae 635 O25 52 | ee Saas 63, 512. 52
Baird whucyieeytind seo eee oen eh Oe Ne ee eee 9959505) | sas 9, 959. 05
Barstow brederie sD undo wee sen SE ee ee 964327 0| sare eee oo 964. 27
Cantield Collection fund Uns 522 5, Ee aR ee eee, BRUARRY OTE | ee Baw er 7 48, 488. 51
@asevemBhom ag soe tin dae ee eke er Ek TR S| eee ae tee O79 A ee 9, 797. 14
Ciamiberlain tind ee Ee Oe eee eee 35\698168)|-_-. SEee 35, 698. 68
Hodgkins (specific) funds sean 2! Be $1002 00000 | 22 3e2 See Be Se eee 100, 000. 00
HuphestiBiwcer fides: AE ae TS Ee eee NOS2O546S i ete baw eie ak 19, 205. 63
Miyeri@iatherineiwee funder ee eon Lee Le ee ee Sea 22) SOG Gan Egan eee 22, 907. 94
Pell Gormeliaulivingston, funda. ) See ne 2 a ees SHOGON69) | perenne oe 23 3, 060. 69
Poore, Lucy T. and George W., fund_-...--...---2_- ZOXGZONOO) | BGs Uae ee ee ee 62, 842. 17
Reid eAddisonyas fume ile eer Lene ees ets 11: 000/00) |) 145478104 eure ae es 25, 478. 94
Roebling Collection finde. Le a ST ee ea ad TO 2h OS Tedd lamar oe eere 152, 987. 77
Hollins: Miriam andiwilliam) finde oe yee ee ee ee S18 TOO | ease Se =e 53, 787. 00
Smithsonian unrestricted funds:
EARVier sy Eta Ty END ae RE 14,000.00 | 47,207.09 |------------ 61, 207. 09
Esa OWT GLUT Pee ee LT REN) a a SL S746 70 ioe eee 81, 374. 67
Pa Helis Gs eee ES ES. eee ae SO00500) | oats a ee 500. 00
Hachenberg fun dee 2 ote 5 Sal Les See 5 LOOS4G RSs ae 5, 100. 49
amd fonitiund si. Say ls Ss NS a Eas 2, 500. 00 BA 7 Oli]: Seles FS 3, 011. 70
entry fun gee Sis SUP Ge ea ee 2 ae | ie ae ee 1 boaele: |peeeeen sens 1; 533. 17
Hodgkinsigoneral fun dae. sss) = ee eee 116,000.00 | 38,018.94 |__-_-_._-_-- 154, 018. 94
Rarer etry Aebss 2 ee tee ek SS SO 727, 640. 00 D647 Oi Ss eee eee 729, 187. 50
AR aVeCps Uy ao | ee 2 A ED eee ee ee ee ess 590. 00 SOONG Sa = eee 1, 189. 63
Sanfondiian de tess. 2. SPN eee eee de ae PR Pe 1, 100. 00 Ly 1287492 | Se 2, 228. 49
Springer fii aka ts Wise Fe ey ists Mia | a ee ee $13, 835. 00 13, 835. 00
Walcott, Charles D. and Mary Vaux, fund_______.__|-_-___________ LOFADOA 2 ate eee ee 12, 450. 72
NWOUNger Olena VW AlCOGL, Lubra Ce ee SP aR ee oie ein a SW Com ea A ape 49, 812. 50 49, 812. 50
ZeV Dee we Tances Brinckl6, un dss) 2. San eee ee |e ener O64) 8422 ee ears 964. 84
Motel se 2c2e 2 BN 2 Sos IES Sek SEE RS oe 1, 000, 000. 00 | 712,156.86 | 63,647. 50 | 1,775, 804. 36
Freer Gallery of Art—The invested funds of the Freer bequest
are classified as follows:
COULE AMA pSvO UGS) fury 2s iene MN a aie eas toyed Ries we oy ee NS eee $580, 016. 22
Court7and erounds maintenance, fund ee ee ee 145, 171. 79
CT aE OTe een ha a ek Nk RR gk Sea eels ee ee 589, 763. 31
Residuary Vlegacy see fi ak ee A a I eee 3, 858, 208. 44
PTS tea Do ss 8 UE PR ls ane Pee cic 5, 178, 159. 76
Recapitulation of endowment funds, June 80, 1932
Hndowment) form GENeTAall wpPUTOOSE See $1, 039, 351. 68
Endowment for specific purposes other than Freer endowment___ 736, 452. 68
Total endowment other than Freer endowment____-_______ 1, 775, 804. 36
Breen cendowmente i Ss he ae ang eee eS sales als eas:
&
STATEMENT OF INCOME
PARENT INSTITUTION
Expendable income for fiscal year:
Cash income from all sources for general work of the Institu-
VG 6 d[eeppkay niene ls pe e/a fe CORO MMDE ley MERRY Re en Met Oe. Eig Nea Ry Sa A $74, 883. 41
Cash income from investments and other sources for specific
OL CCUS 2 tes Mare SEER UT aa ae ee Se Sg Re 27, 3938. 29
Cash gifts expendable for specific objects______________________ Bey (a leval
Ota 2h ee oe ee ee ol 136, 038. 41
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY o
Increase of endowment:
Endowment for general work of the Institution_______________ $108, 020. 39
Hndowment) for) Specific’ US@se sess nn eee a othe 7, 480. 71
TT) t <1] eee an eee nae en pee tania eye See Se ee 115, 451.10
FREER GALLERY OF ART
Expendable income for fiscal year: Cash income for general work
(One see) aeyh tea D VES eo gee ee Sy SATEEN ES EE tg Se hs PES Be Ay pee Se 281, 476. 85
The practice of depositing on time in local trust companies and
banks such revenues as may be spared temporarily has been con-
tinued during the past year, and interest on these deposits has
amounted to $5,364.02.
The Institution gratefully acknowledges gifts or bequests from
the following:
Dr. W. L. Abbot, for archeological investigations in Cuba and the Bahama
Islands.
Mrs. Laura Welsh Casey, further contributions to the Thomas Lincoln Casey
fund for investigations in Coleoptera.
The estate of Dwight W. Morrow, for general endowment fund of the
Institution.
Mr. Childs Frick, further contributions for researches in vertebrate
paleontology.
Research Corporation, for further contributions for researches in radiation.
Rockefeller Foundation, for further contributions for researches in radiation.
Mr. John A. Roebling, for further contributions for researches in radiation.
The estate of William H. Rollins, for investigations in physics and chemistry.
Mrs. Mary Vaux Walcott, for archeological investigations in Alaska.
From an anonymous friend, for further investigations in Old World
archeology.
PUBLIC FUNDS
The following appropriations were made by Congress for the
Government bureaus under the administrative charge of the Smith-
sonian Institution for the fiscal year 1932:
Sellar CSweT CsCl SES eeremte ee sO NIG NUR eee Urn On TOK: OnPN Sere moe $38, 644. 00
CG ellativeeTenCOMeee On rome mse ty neste. 13) en WNL a bo were ee ene 20, 000. 00
TM TERN atlOT EEX CHATS CG) se CeCe eh Ne) ee stan ia eavae MRL RL ene MeL Le 54, 060. 00
AMET Cane Hi hhinOlO sy iste AE Ee EP NRE EY Oe TR NE PPA 72, 640. 00
International Catalogue of Scientific Literature_________________ 8, 150. 00
ASTERODMY SUCAL EOS CE Viel DOM yj oe ee reo arte aot en 37, 620. 00
National Museum:
Maintenance and operation *___-___-_____ $154, 580. 00
Preservation\of collections 70! 42" Ss ore ys) A 620, 510. 00
——§— 775, 090. 00
INaOUBIE Gallerye OfmAGG ee ee Nee wrasse mest See aoe 45, 220. 00
National Zoological Park__________ EEE) Devs WARE D EL EVER na eee iPS 255, 540. 00
1Former appropriations ‘Furniture and fixtures,’ ‘ Heating and lighting,” and
“ Building repairs” provided for under this appropriation.
2? Former appropriations “ Books’ and ‘“‘ Postage’? merged with ‘“‘ Preservation of collec-
tions’ and provided for under this appropriation.
6 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
National Zoological Park, plans for building for small mammals__ $4, 500. 00
Jeperbaynb oles Wate lon b ayo bb ategepmmneree eos Lee UelR mE ID eM NE NE Cee Ea 104, 000. 00
TD cy Tend oes Se I a Se 2 1, 415, 464. 00
MATTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST
DWIGHT W. MORROW BEQUEST
Under the terms of the will of Dwight W. Morrow, former am-
bassador to Mexico and later United States Senator from New Jer-
sey, who died October 5, 1931, the Institution received a bequest of
$100,000. ‘The legacy reads as follows:
To the Smithsonian Institution, city of Washington, District of Columbia,
one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), to be part of its endowment funds.
Mr. Morrow, who for several years was a member of the Board
of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, had taken an active inter-
est in its affairs. His generous bequest is a substantial indication
of that interest; it will be particularly valuable to the Institution
because it is unhampered by conditions in the application of its
income, making it possible to assign the additional funds thus pro-
vided to the researches most in need of assistance.
RESEARCH CORPORATION AWARDS TO DOCTORS DOUGLASS AND ANTEVS
In recognition of their outstanding scientific researches the fourth
and fifth Research Corporation awards of $2,500 each were made
through the Smithsonian Institution to Dr. Andrew Ellicott
Douglass and Dr. Ernst Antevs on December 18, 1931. The presen-
tation was made in the auditorium of the National Museum, the
exercises opening with an account of the Research Corporation and
its awards by the Secretary of the Institution, and informally by
Mr. Elon Hooker, a director of the corporation. This was followed
by the formal presentation by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes,
chancellor of the Institution, and the recipients then delivered ad-
dresses on their researches. An account of the ceremony, together
with the full text of the addresses of Doctors Douglass and Antevs,
will be found in the general appendix to the Smithsonian Report for
1931.
LECTURES
Arthur Lecture——The first lecture under the bequest of James
Arthur, received by the Institution in 1931, was given by Dr. Henry
Norris Russell, professor of astronomy at Princeton University, who
lectured on The Composition of the Sun, in the auditorium of the
National Museum on the evening of January 27, 1932. The lecture
is being published in the Smithsonian Report for 1931.
Hamilton Lecture——The sixth Hamilton Lecture was given on the
evening of March 30, 1932, also in the auditorium of the Museum,
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY é
by Dr. Albert Charles Seward, master of Downing College and pro-
fessor of botany, Cambridge University. Doctor Seward’s subject
was Plant Records of the Rocks; the lecture will appear in the
Smithsonian Report for 1932.
Lecture on anthropological work in Alaska—On February 24,
1932, Dr. AleS Hrdlicka, curator of physical anthropology in the
National Museum, lectured on Anthropological Exploration in
Alaska, under the auspices of the Institution.
SMITHSONIAN SCIENTIFIC SERIES
The Smithsonian Scientific Series is a set of 12 volumes, written in
popular style and profusely illustrated, on the various branches of
science included in the scope of the Institution’s work. The books
were written by members of the staff and collaborators of the Insti-
tution, and they are published and sold by a New York corporation,
the Smithsonian Institution Series, Inc. The Institution receives a
definite royalty on all sales. Three-fourths of all receipts are added
to the permanent endowment, the remainder used as income to pro-
‘mote the Smithsonian program of research and publication.
Eleven volumes of the series have thus far been issued and the
twelfth and last was in press at the close of the fiscal year. The titles
and authors are as follows:
1. The Smithsonian Institution, by Webster Prentiss True.
. The Sun and the Welfare of Man, by Charles Greeley Abbot.
. Minerals from Earth and Sky. Part I, The Story of Meteorites, by George
P. Merrill; Part II, Gems and Gem Minerals, by William F. Foshag.
4, The North American Indians. An account of the American Indians north of
Mexico, compiled from the original sources, by Rose A. Palmer.
co ho
5. Insects: Their Ways and Means of Living, by R. H. Snodgrass.
6. Wild Animals in and out of the Zoo, by William M. Mann.
7. Man from the Farthest Past, by C. W. Bishop, C. G. Abbot, and A.
Hrdlicka.
8. Cold-Bloodod Vertebrates, by C. W. Gilmore, D. M. Cochran, and S. F.
Hildebrand.
9. Warm-Blooded Vertebrates. Part I, Birds, by Alexander Wetmore; Part II,
Mammals, by Gerrit S. Miller, jr., and James W. Gidley.
10. Shelled Invertebrates of the Past and Present, with Chapters on Geological
History, by Ray S. Bassler, Charles E. Resser, Waldo L. Schmitt, and
Paul Bartsch.
11. Old and New Plant Lore, by Agnes Chase, A. S. Hitchcock, Earl 8. Johnston,
J. H. Kempton, Ellsworth P. Killip, Daniel T. MacDougal, Albert Mann,
and William R. Maxon.
12. Great Inventions, by Charles Greeley Abbot.
COOPERATIVE ETHNOLOGICAL AND ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS
In 1928 Congress appropriated $20,000 for cooperative ethnological
and archeological investigations in this country, the allotments to
be made on approval of the Secretary of the Institution in amounts
8 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
equal to those raised by the organizations proposing the investiga-
tions. The fund was nearly exhausted in 1931, but it was possible to
make two small allotments this year, bringing to a close this cooper-
ative project.
Allotments from the fund for cooperative ethnological and archeological investi-
gations during the year ended June 80, 1982
1982
May 12. University of Denver, to excavate two dry caves in southern Colorado,
ohe near La Veta and the other in the Apishapa Valley district; and
if time and money permit, to make a reconnaissance of archeological
remains in and around the San Dunes National Monument, $300.
June 23. Mississippi, Department of Archives and History, to conduct a survey
of Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian village sites and excavate prom-
ising mounds in Mississippi, $259.
EXPLORATIONS AND FIELD WORK
The Institution and its branches sent out or participated in 25
expeditions in the furtherance of its researches in anthropology,
biology, geology, and astrophysics. These expeditions visited 13
States of the United States, several countries of Europe, Canada,
Alaska, Mexico, Hispaniola, Jamaica, British Guiana, and South-
vest Africa. As illustrative of the aims of these expeditions, I may
mention Dr. W. F. Foshag’s trip to various mining localities in
Mexico for the purpose of collecting certain rare minerals and series
of specimens illustrating occurrences and ore formation for the
National Museum; Dr. Alexander Wetmore’s expedition to His-
paniola to obtain needed information on the bird life of that region;
and a continuation of Dr. Ales’ Hrdlicka’s anthropological work in
Alaska, in the course of which he obtained anthropometric measure-
ments on the living natives and, through excavation, collections of
old skeletal and archeological material. The results of these and
of the other expeditions of the year are described and illustrated in
Explorations and Field Work of the Smithsonian Institution in
1931, Smithsonian publication No. 31384.
PUBLICATIONS
The consolidation of the three separate editorial offices of the
Institution into one central office under the general direction of the
editor of the Smithsonian, announced in last year’s report, has
proved to be a very satisfactory arrangement. The most important
results have been more accuracy and greater uniformity of style
in the several series issued under the Institution and a shortening
of the average time from manuscript to finished book; furthermore,
a central contact point is provided between the printer and the edi-
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 9
torial staff, and all of the financial and other records are kept in one
office, where the status of every publication and allotment is avail-
able at any time. One hundred and twenty-one volumes and pam-
phlets were issued during the year, 50 by the Institution proper, 63
‘by the National Museum, 7 by the Bureau of American Ethnology,
and 1 by the Astrophysical Observatory. Detailed information re-
garding these publications will be found in the report of the editor,
Appendix 11. The total number of publications distributed was
223,045.
LIBRARY
The Smithsonian library, made up of 10 divisional libraries and
35 sectional libraries, now contains more than 800,000 volumes, pam-
phlets, and charts. Accessions during the year totaled 6,807 volumes
and 4,648 pamphlets and charts, most of which were received in
exchange. Among the outstanding gifts were a set in 45 volumes of
the ‘‘ Phra Tripitaka ” from His Majesty the King of Siam and a
copy of “ Cristoforo Colombo—Documenti & prove della sua ap-
partenenza a Genova,” presented by His Excellency Dino Grand.
Considerable progress was made in recataloguing the botanical col-
lection of the National Museum library, and the reclassifying and
recataloguing of the Freer Gallery of Art library was almost com-
pleted. Arrangements were made for assembling a dictionary index
to all of the publications of the Institution and its branches.
GOVERNMENTALLY SUPPORTED BRANCHES?
National Musewm.—The total appropriations for the past year
were $835,090, an increase of $4,696 over those for the previous year.
Plans were completed for the wings to be added to the Natural His-
tory Building, authorized in 1930; but owing to the need for national
economy, the estimate of $1,200,000 to begin construction could not
be included in the Budget. Additions to the collections numbered
‘157,870 specimens, and as usual a large number of specimens were
examined and reported upon, exchanged with other institutions, and
given to schools. Important accessions in anthropology included
collections of artifacts from prehistoric sites in Europe; series of old
native implements from Kodiak Island, Alaska; costumes and im-
plements used by the natives of Panama; and native pottery and
textiles from Africa. Collections of general biological material were
received from Southwest Africa and from Siam. Important series
of plants came from the Brazilian-Venezuelan frontier and from
Peru. In geology, a large number of interesting minerals were
1or further details regarding the work of these branches, see the appendixes at the
end of this report.
10 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
accessioned, including a gold nugget weighing 81 ounces troy; also
important collections of fossils, particularly of mammals. The out-
standing addition in history was a series of 71 paintings illustrating
events in American history, by the late J. L. Gerome Ferris, pre-
sented by Mrs. Ferris. Twenty-three scientific expeditions relating
to the Museum were in the field during the year, bringing back
valuable material for study and exhibition. The number of visitors
for the year totaled 1,630,030.
National Gallery of Art——Two special exhibitions were held dur-
ing the year—one a collection of paintings made in Spain by Wells
M. Sawyer and the other an exhibition in honor of the bicentennial
of the birth of George Washington, which consisted of paintings,
sculpture, plans of Washington City, etc., and was held under the
auspices of the United States Bicentennial Commission and the Na-
tional Commission of Fine Arts. Accessions of art works included
a number of portraits, including those of Henry Ward Ranger and
Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, and two water-color paintings
by William Spencer Bagdatopoulos. Fifteen paintings were pur-
chased by the Council of the National Academy of Design; under
Mr. Ranger’s will, any of these may be claimed by the National Gal-
lery during the 5-year period beginning 10 years after the artist’s
death and ending 15 years after his death.
Freer Gallery of Art..—Additions to the collections include ex-
amples of Persian bookbinding; Chinese bronze; Chinese and Per-
sian ceramics; Chinese jade; Arabian, Persian, Armenian, and In-
dian manuscripts; and Chinese silver-gilt. Curatorial work has been
devoted to a study of a Japanese mandara painting; to a study of
the Indian manuscript, Vasanta Vildsa; to a critical study of an
ancient Armenian manuscript of the Four Gospels; and to the study
of inscriptions on Buddhist stone sculptures and of inscriptions and
seals on Chinese paintings. The total attendance of visitors for the
year was 122,940. <A full report of archeological work undertaken
by the field staff of the gallery in Shansi Province, China, is now
being published in Shanghai. It will be printed in both English
and Chinese and will be fully illustrated.
Bureau of American Ethnology.—Much of the work of the bureau
depends upon field expeditions, which obtain needed information and
collections connected with its investigations of the Indians. The
chief, Mr. Stirling, as a guest of the privately organized Latin
American expedition, visited the Tule Indians of Panama and the
Jivaros of Ecuador. Doctor Swanton had considerable success in
1The Government’s expense in connection with the Freer Gallery of Art consists mainly
in the care of the building and certain other custodial matters. Other expenses are paid
from the Freer endowment funds.
REPORT OF THE ‘SECRETARY 11
locating the probable route of De Soto and Moscoso through Arkan-
sas and Louisiana. He also recorded linguistic material among the
-Tunica Indians in Louisiana and continued the preparation of the
handbook of the Southeastern Indians. Doctor Michelson conducted
linguistic and other researches among the Cheyenne, the Fox, and
the Kiowa. Mr. Harrington studied the Indians of Monterey and
San Benito Counties, Calif., and investigated the Chingichngich cul-
ture of the coast of southern California. Doctor Roberts continued
excavations near Allantown, Ariz., uncovering a number of pit
houses, one of which, dated 797 A. D. by means of charred timbers,
proved to be one of the earliest buildings of known date in the South-
west. Doctor Strong conducted excavations in the stratified deposits
on the top of Signal Butte, in western Nebraska, revealing three
distinct levels of occupation, the lowest evidently of great antiquity.
Mr. Hewitt continued his researches on the Iroquois Indians of the
United States and Canada. Mr. Walker explored certain caves in
the Ozark region of north central Arkansas and mound and village
sites in northern Louisiana. Miss Densmore continued her researches
on Indian music, particularly among the Winnebago of Wisconsin
and the Seminole of Florida.
International Hxchanges.—The International Exchange Service is
the official United States agency for the exchange with other coun-
tries of parliamentary documents, departmental documents, and mis-
cellaneous scientific and literary publications. The total number of
packages of such material handled by the service during the year was
759,035, an increase of about 18 per cent over last year’s total. The
total number of sets of United States official documents forwarded
to foreign depositories is 112, and the number of copies of the Con-
gressional Record sent to designated agencies abroad is 104.
National Zoological Park.—An expedition to British Guiana, led
by the director of the park, brought back 317 live animals, includ-
ing 18 species of mammals, 25 of birds, and 31 of reptiles and
amphibians. Other accessions for the year totaled 900 animals.
There were removed by death, exchange, and return of animals on
deposit a total of 1,416, leaving the collection at the close of the year
at 2,302 animals. Outstanding among the gifts of the year were
the baby mountain gorilla and chimpanzee brought by Mr. and Mrs.
Martin Johnson. Visitors totaled 2,169,460, including 716 groups
from schools and other organizations in 22 States, the District of
Columbia, and Cuba. Work has progressed on the plans for a
building for small mammals and great apes. The newly completed
reptile house continues to be the most popular building at the park,
demonstrating that it is well worth while to exhibit animals in suit-
able and attractive quarters.
12 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Astrophysical Observatory—Volume V of the annals of the ob-
servatory was published during the year. This volume covers the
work of the period 1920 to 1930, including descriptions of the sta-
tions and instruments, discussions of sources of error, methods of
observation, tables of daily observations, 10-day and monthly means,
and a discussion of the results of the several observing stations dur-
ing the 10-year period. New instruments were designed and con-
structed for solar researches, those completed being a new 2-chamber
water-flow pyrheliometer, a doubly dispersing spectroscope designed
to observe the extreme infra-red solar spectrum between wave lengths
10 and 80 microns, and the periodometer, an instrument for investi-
gation of periodicities in solar and terrestrial phenomena. Daily
observations of the solar constant of radiation were continued at
Montezuma, Chile, and Table Mountain, Calif. The station at
Mount Brukkaros was closed. A volcanic eruption in Chile during
the year made the atmosphere at Montezuma so hazy that satisfac-
tory measurements of the solar constant could not be made there
after April, 1932. In the search for a desirable observatory site in
Africa, A. F. Moore found Mount Saint Katherine in the Sinai
Peninsula in Egypt to be the most promising of those investigated.
Division of Radiation and Organisms.2—The carbon dioxide as-
similated by wheat has been measured for light intensities varying
from 78 to 1,900 foot-candles and for carbon dioxide concentrations
varying from 0.004 to 0.500 per cent. A set of individual plant-
growth chambers has been completed, permitting comparative ob-
servations on the effects of different wave-length distributions of
light; a first experiment indicates that an excessive intensity in the
less refrangible end of the spectrum, that is, the infra-red and
extreme red, is accountable for much of the abnormal appearance
of plants grown in artificial hight. An interesting set of experi-
ments has been conducted on the lethal effects of the ultra-violet
rays upon unicellular algae. Phototropic investigations have been
carried further into the blue end of the spectrum. Ultra-violet
measurements of the mercury are with the double monochromator
have been carried to the point where absolute intensities can be de-
termined with reasonable certainty. Cooperative work with the
Department of Agriculture includes a study of the effects of light
upon noncompetitive crop plants.
International Catalogue of Scientific Literature—In addition to
the routine work of the bureau, letters were sent by the Secretary
of the Institution to all of the former regional bureaus asking
whether they would again cooperate in the publication of the cata-
logue by supplying references to the scientific literature of their
?'The Division of Radiation and Organisms is supported almost wholly by annual grants
from private sources.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 13
regions if funds could be provided to reestablish and finance the
central publishing bureau. The replies so far received have been
most gratifying, 16 out of 18 agreeing to cooperate in the resump-
tion of the enterprise. It is hoped and expected that the necessary
capital to resume publication, estimated at $75,000, can be obtained.
NECROLOGY
DAVID STARR JORDAN
David Starr Jordan, chancellor emeritus of Stanford University,
and associate in zoology, United States National Museum, since 1921,
was born January 19, 1851, and died at his home in Menlo Park,
Palo Alto, Calf., on September 19, 1931. Doctor Jordan became
interested in ichthyology in the early seventies and devoted much of
his time to the collection and study of fishes, to the great benefit of
the collections of the National Museum. With his close associates—
Copeland, Gilbert, Evermann, and others—and in cooperation with
the United States Bureau of Fisheries, Doctor Jordan collected not
only in the United States generally but also from Mexico to Panama
and in Hawaii, Japan, and elsewhere, making full reports upon
material collected, much of which was deposited in the division of
fishes of the National Museum.
Over a period of 45 years (1878-1923) Doctor Jordan was author
of 57 ichthyological papers, and coauthor of nearly 200 others, pub-
lished in the Proceedings of the United States National Museum.
In addition he was author of two bulletins of the National Museum
and coauthor of three, including the monumental work on The Fishes
of North and Middle America, in four volumes, written in collabora-
tion with Dr. Barton Warren Evermann.
JAMES WILLIAMS GIDLEY
James Williams Gidley, assistant curator of fossil mammals in the
United States National Museum, was born January 7, 1866, and died
in Washington on September 26, 1931. Doctor Gidley’s life work was
centered in the science of vertebrate paleontology, specializing in the
fossil mammalia, in which he attained great distinction. Many
scientific papers, largely published by the National Museum, record
the results of his investigations. He was particularly noted for his
research on the fossil horses of North America and for his studies on
fossil remains in the Pleistocene of Florida. Through his wide
knowledge of comparative anatomy he was called into frequent con-
sultation by students of modern mammals. Doctor Gidley entered
the Government service in 1905 as a member of the scientific staff of
the National Museum and had been associated with the paleontologi-
cal work of the Smithsonian Institution steadily since that time.
14 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
CHARLES WALLACE RICHMOND
Charles Wallace Richmond, associate curator of birds, United
States National Museum, was born in Kenosha, Wis., December 31,
1868, and died in Washington May 19, 1932. He came to Washing-
ton in 1881 and in 1888 joined the Geological Survey in its explora-
tions in Montana. Returning from this, he became ornithological
clerk in the division of economic ornithology and mammalogy in the
United States Department of Agriculture. In 1892-93 he was in
Nicaragua making natural-history collections, and in 1894 he was
appointed assistant curator of birds in the National Museum, and in
1918 associate curator, which position he held until his death. In
1900 he was a member of the United States National Museum
expedition to Puerto Rico. During the 38 years that he was affliated
with the Museum he has been a steady contributor to the publications
of the Smithsonian Institution dealing with problems of ornithology
and nomenclature. In these fields he was a recognized authority.
Respectfully submitted.
C. G. Aspor, Secretary.
APPENDIX 1
REPORT ON THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
Str: I have the honor to submit the following report on the con-
dition and operations of the United States National Museum for
the fiscal year ended June 80, 1932:
The total appropriations for the maintenance of the National
Museum for this period amounted to $835,090, an increase of $4,696
over those for 1931. In this year’s spur aans the six separate
items formerly used were combined under two headings, “ Preserva-
tion of collections ” and “ Maintenance and operation.”
The appropriations for building repairs for 1931 included four
items that were for noncontinuing appropriations, amounting to
$37,500, omitted in the appropriation for 1932. Additions under
maintenance and operation for 1932 amount to $8,280, so that, omit-
ting the items coming to $37,500 indicated above, there is a decrease
under this heading of $29,220.
The amount available under preservation of collections was in-
creased by $20,416, of which $18,600 was applied to additional per-
sonnel. Reallocations made by the Classification Board added $2,160
to the salary rolls. Other increases amounted to $1,816.
The sum available for printing and binding was increased by $3,500
to care for an arrearage in the printing of manuscripts, for which
further additional funds are much needed.
Requirements for additional appropriations for the National
Museum follow lines indicated in previous reports. Further per-
sonnel is a question of paramount importance, as the present staff is
fully occupied in the various duties that come under its scope, and
there is constant need for additional assistance, as many important
tasks now have to be postponed, this postponement sometimes run-
ning for several years.
This situation will be aggravated during the coming year, as under
the Economy Act all funds accumulated as a result of lapses in
regular positions are impounded for return to the Treasury. Moneys
accumulated from such lapses have been the principal means of
hiring temporary employees, so that little of the usual temporary
help will be available during 1933. ‘This means that numerous tasks
will be at a complete standstill and that the arrearage at the close of
the year will be considerable.
15
16 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Further, the appropriations for the National Museum above the
salary rolls have not been sufficient for the regular routine expendi-
tures, these sums having been supplemented by accumulations from
lapses due to temporary vacancies in regular positions on the salary
roll. Under the Economy Act, as stated above, these funds are
all impounded for return to the Treasury, so that the Museum in
1933, in addition to its situation with regard to temporary help, will
find itself more than $10,000 short of the funds necessary for regular
routine expenditures.
Curtailment in appropriation for printing and binding for the
fiscal year 1933 has placed the National Museum in a situation where
the usual publications can not be issued. This will result in the
postponement of many valuable papers whose contents should be
made available for general public use.
ADDITIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY BUILDING
In the report for last year there was mention of the provision in
the second deficiency bill for 1931 of an appropriation of $10,000
for the preparation of preliminary plans for additions to the Natural
History Building. It will be recalled that the extension of the
Natural History Building, through wings on the east and west ends,
at a cost of $6,500,000, was authorized in the Smoot-Elliott bill,
approved by the President on June 19, 1930. ‘The executive com-
mittee of the Board of Regents selected the Allied Architects (Inc.)
of Washington to make the necessary plans. The work has pro-
eressed rapidly and efficiently under the direction of Nathan Wyeth,
so that these plans are now in hand.
An estimate for $1,200,000 for a first appropriation to begin con-
struction was included in the items submitted te the Bureau of the
Budget for the fiscal year 1933, it being considered that this would
suffice for excavation, foundations, and similar items, with the ex-
pectation that contracts would be made covering the continuance of
the work. Due to the financial situation which arose and the neces-
sary restriction that this imposed on the National Budget, it was
not practicable to include this item in the estimates finally sub-
mitted to the Congress, nor was there later opportunity to consider
it favorably. The matter has rested at this point pending more
favorable opportunity.
It is highly important that construction should be begun as soon
as financial conditions will permit. The addition in space that these
new wings will bring is seriously needed, since the present Museum
buildings are so badly crowded as to interfere with logical exhibi-
tion and storage collections, and there can be no expansion. The
matter is particularly important in view of the many excellent
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 17
specimens that are constantly offered that form highly desirable
additions to the national collections. Many expedients are adopted
to provide additional storage facilities, but we are about at the end
of our resources in this respect. It must be anticipated that more
than two years will be required before the new area is ready for
occupancy after construction is begun, so that work on the wings
should commence as soon as practicable.
Final completion of the additions to the Natural History Build-
ing will provide properly for the Museum's needs in one direction,
but other collections require more adequate housing than can be
given them with the existing structures. The great collections in
engineering, aviation, textiles, history, and associated fields are at
present in the old Museum Building, constructed in 1881 at a cost
of $225,000, and in a temporary building south of the Smithsonian
Building that houses most of the aircraft. Both buildings are
crowded to such an extent that many desirable objects offered for
the national collections can not be accepted because there is no room
for them. Plans should be drawn as soon as possible for a large
building to house the collections concerned with arts and industries,
including aircraft, that will provide proper facilities for these im-
portant collections. There should be, further, a separate building
for the great historical collections, in which there are found such
objects as relics of Washington, Lincoln, and many other illustrious
Americans; the original Star-Spangled Banner; the great series of
costumes, particularly those of the wives of the Presidents; and
many other objects of pride to our Nation, which should be dis-
played in proper form for the thousands of visitors who come
annually to Washington.
COLLECTIONS
Additions to the collections of the National Museum during the
fiscal year amounted to 157,870 individual specimens, a number con-
siderably less than that of the last few years but one that must be
considered normal, since in previous accounts there had been included
large private collections coming as gifts or extended series of speci-
mens from prolonged explorations in the field. Materials of vari-
ous kinds received for examination and report amounted to 12,060
lots. Gifts of duplicate materials to schools and other educational
organizations included 6,299 specimens, while exchanges of duplicate
materials with other institutions and with mdividuals amounted to
11,621 specimens, for which there were received in return material
needed for our collections. Loans to scientific workers outside of
Washington totaled 36,639 specimens.
Following is a digest of the more important accessions for the year
in the various departments and divisions of the Museum:
18 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Anthropology.—aA plaster cast of the famous bison carved in clay
by Upper Paleolithic sculptors from the cave of Tuc d’Audoubert,
Ariége, France, was obtained through arrangements made by J.
Townsend Russell, and purchased and presented by the Old World
archeology fund administered by the Smithsonian Institution.
There came also a valuable collection of stone artifacts of Aurignacian
age from three localities in the French Pyrenees collected by Mr.
Russell as field director, under the Smithsonian Institution, of the
Franco-American Union for Prehistoric Research in France. There
were further collections of artifacts from several prehistoric sites
in Europe and North Africa presented by Mr. Russell from his
own collections. In Alaska Dr. AleS Hrdlitka collected on Kodiak
Island a series of stone, bone, and wooden implements of a type not
previously known, and from the region about Bristol Bay and from
Kodiak Island an important series of human skeletons. M. W. Stir-
ling forwarded a large collection of costumes and implements from
the Indians of Panama, with additional materials from northwestern
South Africa. From Nigeria and the Gold Coast of Africa, C. C.
Roberts sent further collections of native materials, including pot-
tery, textiles, brass castings, and many other objects. Through Mrs.
Charles D. Walcott there were obtained from Hawau several ancient
poi bowls cut from wood, which are new to the Museum’s collections.
Biology.—An interesting collection of birds, mammals, reptiles,
and plants was obtained by Mrs. lL. O. Sordahl while at the solar
observatory of the Smithsonian Institution on Mount Brukkaros in
Southwest Africa. This arid region is one that has been little vis-
ited by naturalists and one from which the National Museum has had
little material previously. Dr. Hugh M. Smith, fisheries adviser to
the Government of Siam, forwarded further collections of birds,
mammals, reptiles, fish, and mollusks,.so that the series from Siam
is of steadily growing importance. W. G. Sheldon and Richard
Borden presented an important collection of mammals made in Brit-
ish Columbia from regions which have not previously been repre-
sented in the Museum. These gentlemen are continuing work in that
area during the coming year, and further material may be expected.
The division of birds obtained 23 genera and 340 forms new to
its collections, a considerable number coming from Africa through
funds supplied by the late Marcus Daly. A huge specimen of the
ocean sunfish estimated to weigh about 1,200 pounds, captured in nets
of the Bayhead Fisheries (Inc.), off the coast of New Jersey, was
presented through the Edward C. Worden Laboratory of Millburn,
N. J. Additions to the collections of plants have included important
series from South America collected by E. G. Holt along the Bra-
zilian-Venezuelan frontier, presented by the National Geographic
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 19
Society, and further collections from eastern Peru received as a gift
from G. Klug, of Iquitos, Peru.
Geology.—Through the income of the Roebling fund of the Smith-
sonian Institution there were secured a number of valuable acces-
sions, among them a nugget of gold weighing 81 ounces troy from
Plumas County, Calif.; an example of leaf gold; specimens of rare
uranium minerals; and two flawless crystals of aquamarine. ‘To the
Canfield Collection there were added large exhibition slabs of crystal
dolomite, on which there are crystals of other interesting minerals,
and a large mass of smithsonite from New Mexico. Under the
Chamberlain fund there have been obtained a number of interesting
specimens of coral, illustrating its use as gem material. Additions
to the Isaac Lea collection include a carved vase of Siberian mala-
chite, and some fine opals from Mexico.
Through field investigations financed by the Smithsonian Institu-
tion there were obtained important collections of fossils, particularly
of mammals. Mr. Gilmore collected a considerable part of a large
creodont, three partial skeletons of Coryphodon, fossil turtles,
several skulls of a primitive alligator (Allognathosuchus) and some
remains of the giant flightless bird Dzatryma. N. H. Boss collected
a series of fossil horse bones from the quarry near Hagerman, Idaho,
that included 32 skulls and 4 partly articulated skeletons, adding
measurably to our series of the Pliocene horse Plesippus shoshonensis.
The United States Geological Survey transferred several sets of
rocks and ores and valuable collections of fossil plants. The fourth
shipment of the private collection of Dr. A. Foerste, numbering
about 10,000 specimens, came during the year as a gift. Through
the Springer fund there were obtained some excellently preserved
echinoids from the Cretaceous deposits of Texas, and several slabs
of slate from the Devonian of Germany carrying fine specimens of
crinoids preserved in pyrite.
Arts and Industries—In the division of engineering a full-size
model of a soft-coal mine was under construction, for which several
companies contributed materials such as safety lamps, miners’ belts,
mine cars, and mine timbers, that will make a most attractive exhibit
when assembled. The section of aeronautics received from the Auto-
giro Co. of America the first autogiro to fly in this country—an
invention of Juan de la Cierva. This interesting machine was flown
to Washington by James Ray, vice president of the Autogiro Co.
of America, and was landed in a narrow space on the lawn in front
of the Arts and Industries Building, where it was formally pre-
sented for the Museum. The Packard Motor Car Co. presented to
the National Aircraft Collection the original Packard-Diesel aircraft
engine. For the collection illustrating the development of land
149571—33——3
20 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
transportation there was received an electric brougham of about the
year 1900, a gift from Mrs. Herbert Wadsworth.
For the collection showing the development of time keeping the
city of Frederick, Md., presented a tower-clock movement made
about 1791 that was continuously in use as the town clock until a
few years ago.
From Mrs. Daniel Gardner the Division of Textiles received a
notable series of specimens illustrating the textile art and related
subjects of the early nineteenth century. These included hand-
woven blankets, bed linens made from hand-spun yarns, Paisley and
India shawls, coverlets, and baskets. Through exchange with Yale
University, School of Forestry, the wood collections received a set
of 116 Liberian woods collected where extensive forests were being
cleared for rubber planting.
History—The division of history obtained as its outstanding
addition a series of 71 paintings by the late J. L. Gerome Ferris,
presented by Mrs. Ferris, the set representing the life work of this
well-known American artist. The pictures illustrate notable events
in American history from the time of the discovery to the World
War; a number deal with the career of George Washington. The
personnel of the Eighty-first Division, A. E. F., presented a portrait
of Maj. Gen. Charles J. Bailey, painted by Joseph Cummings Chase.
The Chase Collection of A. E. F. portraits in the National Museum
now includes 48 paintings. For the antiquarian collections Mrs.
Eleanore Daughaday Hertle, through her husband, Louis Hertle,
gave a topaz necklace presented to Mrs. James Monroe by her hus-
band, James Monroe, when he was United States minister to France.
Through the Joint Committee on the Library the Congress of the
United States loaned to the National Museum the Washington me-
morial window, a stained-glass panel by Maria Herndl representing
George Washington on horseback conferring with Lafayette and Von
Steuben. A large collection of chinaware, glassware, silverware,
and other household objects of the early part of the nineteenth cen-
tury was presented by Mrs. Daniel Gardner.
The collection of military uniforms of the World War period was
augmented by a series of military uniforms and equipment of the
type used by the enlisted men of the Portuguese Army contributed
by the Government of Portugal through its minister in Washington.
The American Numismatic Society continued its additions to its
large and interesting loan collection of coins. The philatelic collec-
tion received more than 4,000 specimens by transfer from the United
States Post Office Department—chiefly sets of new issues distributed
by the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY on
MEETINGS AND RECEPTIONS
The lecture rooms and auditorium were used during the past
year for 118 meetings, covering the usual wide range of activities.
Full report on these will be found in the report of the United States
National Museum, separately published.
CHANGES IN EXHIBITIONS
Following renovation of the Aircraft Building as a safeguard
against fire, the collections in aeronautics were rearranged and the
building was opened once more to the public. Im the Arts and
Industries Building a new case was constructed for the Star-
Spangled Banner, the case being one of the largest in the Museum,
displaying the entire union of this important flag. The new instal-
lation has proved most attractive, making this historic emblem one of
the dominating features of the north hall, where it shows to great
advantage. The naval collection shown formerly in the rotunda of
the Natural History Building was transferred in the late winter and
early spring to the northwest court of the Arts and Industries Build-
ing, this move bringing all of the historical collections together.
As another major feature in connection with the historical series,
the Ferris collection of paintings was installed in specially built
alcoves along the south side of the costumes hall. Here they make
a most attractive display with specially arranged lighting. The
paintings have been placed behind glass for protection.
The historical relics concerning George Washington were all as-
sembled in the north hall, where they are shown more conveniently
and attractively for visitors during the Bicentennial celebration.
For the period of the Bicentennial a special exhibition, principally
of statuary, was installed in the National Gallery of Art, with exten-
sion into the rotunda of the Natural History Building. The greater
part of the foyer was allotted also for a temporary exhibit of the
National Capital Park and Planning Commission dealing with the
development of the city of Washington.
EXPLORATIONS AND FIELD WORK
Investigations in the field have included researches concerned with
man, with fossil creatures of many kinds, and with various phases of
living animal and plant life. The work has been carried on mainly
through grants from the Smithsonian Institution, assisted by contri-
butions from individuals, while certain projects were financed
through the income of special funds under jurisdiction of the Smith-
sonian. A brief account of field work for the present year follows.
22 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Through the financial assistance of Dr. W. L. Abbott, long a friend
of the Smithsonian Institution, Herbert W. Krieger, curator of eth-
nology, carried on archeological investigations in Cuba in continua-
tion of work of a similar nature that he has pursued for several years
in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. His investigations covered a
variety of sites between Camaguey and the extreme western end of
the island, with additional studies on the Isle of Pines. The collec-
tions from these investigations have been considerable; they indicate
important evidence in the correlation and distribution of the pre-
historic human cultures of the West Indian area.
Mr. Krieger was also occupied at various times in exploring
Indian village sites in the lower Potomac area not far from Wash-
ington. In the course of this work he has prepared a map showing
the location of known sites and has attempted to correlate data re-
covered with descriptions of such sites in the works of Captain John
Smith and others. The work, when completed, will result in im-
portant information, as except for the writings of Smith and
Raleigh we have practically nothing in the nature of a historical
description of the Indians of tidewater Virginia and of the Carolinas.
Archeological work in northern Alaska was carried on during the
summer by James A. Ford and Moreau B. Chambers under the
general direction of H. B. Collins, jr., who has been working in this
area for several years. Mr. Chambers excavated for three months
at Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, where during the summer of 1930
Mr. Collins had found an unbroken sequence of Eskimo occupation
extending from an early phase of the old Bering Sea culture to the
present time. Mr. Chambers’s work added to the completeness of
this chronological record, bringing especially further evidence of the
transitional phase between the old Bering Sea and the Punuk periods.
Mr. Ford proceeded to Point Barrow, but ice conditions in the
Arctic were the worst in many years, so that he did not arrive until
late in August, when the ground was beginning to freeze. Arrange-
ments were therefore made for him to stay at Barrow over the winter
in order to get in a full season of excavation in 1932. During the
winter he was occupied in various studies pertaining to the modern
Eskimo.
Neil M. Judd, curator of archeology, was engaged in an archeologi-
cal reconnaissance on the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Ariz., on
behalf of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Several caves near
Arsenic Spring, on the southwest slopes of the Nantac Plateau, shel-
tered small pueblo ruins whose associated pottery fragments suggest
occupancy in the thirteenth century or later.
F’. M. Setzler, assistant curator of archeology, continued work. in
the Big Bend region of southern Texas, an area heretofore unknown
archeologically that is thought to conceal important information
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 23
relative to prehistoric contacts between the tribes of northeastern
Mexico and those of the lower Mississippi Valley. Materially aided
by the staff of the Plant Quarantine and Control Administration,
United States Department of Agriculture, at Alpine, Mr. Setzler
centered his recent explorations in the Chisos Mountains district,
overlooking the Rio Grande. A number of important caves in this
region were investigated and various other examinations were made
that correlate with results obtained last year in Presidio County to
the west.
During the past year the cooperative agreement between the
Smithsonian Institution and the University of Toulouse for the ex-
cavation of prehistoric sites in France, arranged by J. Townsend
Russell, collaborator in Old World archeology, as representative of
the Smithsonian Institution, became formally effective. In July,
1931, as field director of the Smithsonian Institution-University of
Toulouse researches in prehistory, financed by the Institution from
the Old World archeology fund, Mr. Russell initiated excavations
in the cave of Marsoulas, in the commune of the same name, Depart-
ment of Haute-Garonne, southern France. Count Henri Begouen,
professor of prehistory at the University of Toulouse, participated
in the investigations as representative of the university. Exploratory
soundings were also made in the near-by cave of Tarte, in the cave
of Roquecourbere, one of the two sites of Solutrean age in the
Pyrenees, and in the workshop of Roquecourbere. In consequence
of this preliminary work a formal agreement was signed on Novem-
ber 27 for cooperative work between the University of Toulouse and
the Smithsonian Institution in the same general region during a
period of 10 years.
It is a privilege to be able thus to join with the University of
Toulouse in researches which should contribute new information to
our present knowledge of Paleolithic man. While the cooperative
agreement provides that the rarest objects remain in France, the
generosity of the University of Toulouse is apparent from the fact
that it retained only two of the specimens found during the pre-
liminary work of the season of 1931. Thus it is to be expected that
representative series of artifacts will come to help fill the very
considerable gaps in the National Museum’s limited exhibits of
Kuropean prehistory.
At the opening of the fiscal year Dr. Ale’ Hrdlitka, curator of
physical anthropology, was engaged in anthropological and archeo-
logical investigations in Alaska that included the lower Nushagak
River, Bristol Bay, the Iliamna Lake regions, portions of Kodiak
Island and adjacent areas. Interesting results were obtained
throughout, with especially important materials coming from
24 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Kodiak Island, where there was found abundant evidence of a culture
that shows evidence of considerable age. ‘This shows interesting
relationships on one hand to the Eskimo and on the other to the
Northwest coast area. In May, 1932, Doctor Hrdlitka returned to
Alaska on his fifth expedition to that interesting area, centering his
efforts this year on the Kodiak Island deposits discovered at the
close of the season last year. Through the interest of Mrs. Charles
D. Walcott he was provided with a small motorboat for use in the
bays about the coast of the island.
Dr. Walter Hough, head curator of the department of anthro-
pology, examined the archeological field opened up by Dr. Byron
Cummings around Tucson, Ariz., where huge adobe walled ruins
are being excavated.
Work abroad in the interests of the Springer Collection, again
undertaken by Dr. R. S. Bassler, head curator of the Department
of Geology, embraced a study of the crinoid collections of various
museums, particularly in England, Austria, and Hungary, and ex-
plorations in certain of the classic geologic areas of these countries.
The entire trip was very successful and resulted in many casts of
fossil echinoderm types, particularly Silurian crinoids hitherto
wanting in the collections.
Dr. W. F. Foshag, curator of mineralogy and petrology, engaged
in explorations in the States of Coahuila, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas,
and Queretaro, Mexico, under the auspices of the Roebling fund of
the Smithsonian Institution. Complete series of the rocks and ores
of the districts visited were collected, resulting in many important
additions to the Roebling Collection in the National Museum.
James Benn, junior aid in the Department of Geology, made cer-
tain collections in southern New York and northern New Jersey.
Of particular interest are fine examples of fluorescent minerals ob-
tained at Franklin Furnace, N. J.
Late in the year K. P. Henderson, assistant curator of physical
and chemical geology, traveling under the Canfield fund of the
Smithsonian Institution, was detailed to collect in Montana, Utah,
and Colorado, with certain needs of the collections as his objective.
He was accompanied by F. A. Gonyer, representing the mineralogical
department of Harvard University.
For the advancement of his work on the Cambrian, Dr. Charles E.
Resser, curator of stratigraphic paleontology, spent four months in
a study of early Paleozoic fossils in European museums and in con-
sultation with geologists concerning the local stratigraphy of the
neighboring areas. His work began in Norway and Sweden and
extended to Czechoslovakia, Poland, Estonia, Germany, and England.
His major objectives were attained to a greater degree than expected,
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 25
and in addition much new material was secured for the Museum by
exchange arrangements.
Dr. G. A. Cooper, assistant curator of stratigraphic paleontology,
collected during his vacation, at his own expense, in classical De-
vonian localities in New York State. At the close of his work he
presented to the Museum more than 2,500 specimens.
The field explorations of C. W. Gilmore, curator of vertebrate
paleontology, covering the Miocene and Oligocene formations of
southwestern Montana, and the Wasatch of the Bighorn Basin, Wyo.,
met with gratifying success. The material collected will fill long-
existing gaps in the collections, and it is anticipated that study will
reveal many undescribed forms.
Excavations were continued in the fossil-horse quarry near Hager-
man, Idaho, under the direction of Norman H. Boss, chief preparator
in the division of vertebrate paleontology, resulting in the recovery
of 4 more or less complete articulated skeletons, 32 skulls, 48 jaws,
and a vast assemblage of skeletal parts.
The Walter Rathbone Bacon traveling scholarship under the
Smithsonian Institution has been awarded for the current period to
Alan Mozley for study of the land and fresh-water molluscan fauna
of Siberia. Mr. Mozley left for the field in the spring of 1932 and
proceeded to Tomsk, Siberia, where he intends to establish head-
quarters for this year’s exploration. Mr. Mozley reports that he will
make an expedition to the mouth of the River Ket, and later, after
returning to Tomsk, will make an excursion south into the Akhmo-
linsk Steppe. He reports cordial cooperation of the local authorities
and scientific institutions.
Dr. J. M. Aldrich, curator of insects, collected Diptera in the Gaspé
Peninsula of eastern Quebec. He obtained a large collection of flies,
establishing the fact that a large number of southern species have a
much wider distribution northwards than has hitherto been sup-
posed, though the lower St. Lawrence River appears to form a suffi-
cient barrier against the spread of the northern flies southward, as
no striking forms of the Labrador fauna were found.
Dr. Paul Bartsch, curator of mollusks, with financial assistance
from the Carnegie Institution of Washington, again visited the
Florida Keys to examine the Cerion colonies planted during previ-
ous years to determine the effect on these mollusks of changes in
environment, as well as of hybridization, a work in which the Smith-
sonian Institution and the Carnegie Institution have cooperated
since 1912.
Gerrit S. Miller, jr., curator of mammals, traveling at his own ex-
pense, with some assistance from the Smithsonian for the hire of
labor, visited Puerto Rico during March and April with the main
26 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
object of continuing his studies of the recently extinct mammal
fauna of the Greater Antilles. Important localities were investi-
gated and many specimens were obtained representing mammals,
‘reptiles, batrachians, plants, and aboriginal artifacts.
Dr. Waldo L. Schmitt, curator of marine invertebrates, with the
cooperation of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, continued a
survey of the carcinological fauna of the Tortugas region at the
Carnegie Marine Laboratory at Tortugas.
Dr. Hugh M. Smith, in Siam, continued explorations throughout
the year, sending to the National Museum large collections of ver-
tebrates and mollusks which have been found to include numerous
forms new to science. Thanks to Doctor Smith, the Museum is
assembling a most excellent representation of the life of a region
from which it had previously possessed little material.
W. G. Sheldon and Richard Borden, interested particularly in
mammals, arranged a 3-month trip at their own expense into north-
eastern British Columbia, where they secured for the Museum a
considerable collection that contains many forms of especial interest.
The principal objective was to obtain specimens of a peculiar form
of mountain sheep and as representative a series of other mammals
as possible, in which the collectors were highly successful. The col-
lections, including certain birds as well as mammals, have been pre-
sented to the National Museum. Thanks are due the Canadian Gov-
ernment for the necessary permits covering the taking of scientific
specimens.
Dr. A. Wetmore, assistant secretary, visited the Bear River
marshes at the northern end of Great Salt Lake, Utah, where he
obtained various specimens of birds required in the Museum series.
The region is one famous for its waterfowl, being now in large part
included in a Federal refuge, and is an area from which the Museum
has extensive collections.
BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT
The erection of the steel galleries in the Natural History Build-
ing for the mammal collections was completed at the end of August.
A pneumatic collecting and conveying system for removing sawdust
from the two woodworking rooms in the carpenter shop was in-
stalled, an important improvement long needed.
The power plant was in operation from October 5, 1931, until May
27, 1932. The consumption of coal during the year was 3,220.4 tons,
at an average cost per ton of $5.03. The total electric current pro-
duced amounted to 628,578 kilowatt-hours, at a cost of 1.65 cents a
kilowatt-hour. The ice plant manufactured 424.2 tons of ice at an
average cost of $2.36 a ton.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY |
MISCELLANEOUS
The exhibition halls of the National Museum were open during the
year on week days from 9 a. m. to 4.30 p. m. and on Sundays from
1.30 p. m. to 4.30 p. m., with the exception of the Aircraft Building,
which was open only on week days. All buildings remained closed
during the day on Christmas and on New Year’s.
Visitors for the year totaled 1,630,030, a decrease of 39,110 from
the record of the preceding year, this difference being due partly to
the fact that the Aircraft Building was closed on Sundays. Attend-
ance in the several buildings was recorded as follows: Smithsonian
Institution, 241,844; Arts and Industries Building, 675,435; Natural
History Building, 600,535; Aircraft Building, 112,216. The average
daily attendance for week days was 4,237 and for Sunday 5,927.
During the year the Museum published 10 volumes and 57 separate
papers, while the distribution of volumes and separates to libraries
and individuals aggregated 101,975 copies. In addition, 18,805 copies
of publications issued during this and previous years were supplied
in response to special requests.
In the Department of Arts and Industries the divisions of mineral
and mechanical technology were consolidated on July 18, 1931, as a
division of engineering, under Carl W. Mitman as curator. Dr. T.
Dale Stewart was appointed assistant curator of the division of
physical anthropology on July 1, 1931, and Horace G. Richards, who
served as senior scientific aid in the division of mollusks from Oc-
tober 5, 1931, was given appointment on March 16, 1982, as assistant
curator of the division. Dr. Charles L. Gazin on March 1, 1932, suc-
ceeded the late Dr. James W. Gidley as assistant curator in the divi-
sion of vertebrate paleontology, and Joseph H. Riley on June 24,
1932, succeeded the late Dr. Charles W. Richmond as associate cura-
tor in the Division of Birds. Dr. C. W. Stiles was given the honor-
ary designation of associate in zoology under the Smithsonian Insti-
tution October 1, 1931, and Dr. Maurice C. Hall was appointed to the
custodianship of the helminthological collections from the same date.
Dr. D. C. Graham’s association with the Museum was recognized by
his appointment on October 19, 1931, as collaborator in biology, an
honorary title which was also extended at the same time to Dr. A. K.
Fisher. Dr. C. Dwight Marsh was appointed custodian of fresh-
water copepods in the division of marine invertebrates on July 10,
1931, and J. Townsend Russell’s honorary appointment as collabora-
tor in Old World archeology was extended for one year from May 13,
1932.
The following employees left the service through operation of the _
retirement act: Charles S. Atkins, laborer; Frederick W. Wilson,
guard; Evan D. Lewis, guard; and Miss K. A. Gallaher, under
28 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
library assistant. Further, under compulsory retirement for age
provided as an economy measure in the legislative appropriation act
for 1933, 12 employees went off the rolls at the close of the fiscal
year, several having served the Museum long in positions of trust
and authority. The list follows: William de C. Ravenel, adminis-
trative assistant to the secretary, with 48 years of service; Barton A.
Bean, assistant curator of fishes, with 51 years of service; James G.
Traylor, appointment clerk, with 50 years of service; Harry C.
Taylor, chief of the paint shop, with 44 years of service; Andrew
Lee Young, assistant to the engineer, with 41 years of service;
Richard A. Allen, senior scientific aid in the department of anthro-
pology, with 35 years of service; Carl A. Carlsson and Lewis Jones,
guards; William Jones, under mechanic, with 23 years of service;
and Charles S. Washington, Albert Strong, and James S. Peyton,
laborers, with 36, 23, and 15 years, respectively.
Through death the Museum lost five workers from its active roll,
as follows: Dr. Charles W. Richmond, associate curator of birds,
May 19, 1932; Dr. James W. Gidley, assistant curator of mammalian
fossils, September 26, 1931; William S. Frazee, guard, March 15,
1932; Michael A. Coleman, guard, May 17, 1932; Mrs. Theresa Dim-
mick, forewoman of charwomen, on October 18, 1931.
From its honorary list of workers the Museum lost by death Dr.
David Starr Jordan, associate in zoology, on September 19, 1931, and
Dr. C. Dwight Marsh, custodian of fresh-water copepods, on April
23, 1932. The Museum lost a benefactor of note by the death of
Rudolf Eickemeyer, of Yonkers, N. Y., on April 24, 1932. A few
years ago Mr. KEickemeyer presented the Museum with his unique
collection of pictorial photographs and historical specimens relating
to photography, and by his will established a trust fund of $10,000,
the income of which after the death of his widow is to be used for
maintenance and collection in the section of photography.
Respectfully submitted.
ALEXANDER WETMORE,
Assistant Secretary.
Dr. C. G. Apsor,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
APPENDIX 2
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith my report on the opera-
tions of the National Gallery of Art for the fiscal year ending June
30, 1982.
The year has not been marked by any event of unusual importance
or by the addition of art collections of exceptional value. The most
noteworthy event of the year was the assignment of certain portions
of the gallery space to the George Washington Bicentennial Com-
mission for its exhibits of art works during 1932. Certain radical
changes in the exhibition spaces were required; and since the gallery
occupies the north hall of the National Museum, all changes made
were directed by the officers of the Museum.
During the year much progress has been made toward the com-
pletion of the gallery card catalogues, which are (1) a comprehensive
general catalogue of the art works of the Institution, not, however,
including the Freer collection; (2) a portrait catalogue (275 num-
bers); (8) a catalogue of loans (64 numbers), and (4) a catalogue
of the Ranger purchases from the beginning (99 numbers).
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART COMMISSION
The eleventh annual meeting of the gallery commission was held
at the Smithsonian Institution on December 8, 1931. The members
present were Gari Melchers, chairman; Frank J. Mather, jr., vice
chairman; W. H. Holmes, secretary; and Charles L. Borie, jr., James
E. Fraser, Charles Moore, EK. C. Tarbell, and Dr. Charles G. Abbot,
ex officio. The following officers, whose terms expired automatically
on this date, were reelected to serve during the ensuing year: Gari
Melchers, chairman; Frank J. Mather, jr., vice chairman; and
William H. Holmes, secretary of the commission. The following
members were recommended to serve for the succeeding term of four
years: James E. Fraser, Joseph H. Gest, Frank J. Mather, jr., and
Edmund C. Tarbell. The death of the following members of the
commission was announced: James Parmelee, on April 19, 1931;
Daniel Chester French, on October 7, 1931; and W. K. Bixby, on
October 29, 1931. Col. George B. McClellan, Thomas Cochran, and
Paul Manship were recommended to fill the vacancies thus occa-
sioned. (Mr. Cochran declined.)
29
30 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Favorable report was made on acceptance of the following art
works:
Portrait of Henry Ward Ranger, by Albert Neuhuys, presented by Frederick
Ballard Williams.
Portrait of Henry Ward Ranger, by Alphonse Jongers, presented by James
H. Fraser.
Painting by Emanuel Leutze (1816-1868), the preliminary sketch for his
great fresco in the Capitol Building at Washington, known as Westward the
Course of Empire Takes Its Way. Presented to William H. Seward by the
artist. Bequest of Miss Sara Carr Upton.
SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS
An exhibition of paintings made in Spain and exhibited in the
Salon de Exposiciones del Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno, Madrid,
in 1928, as “ Corners in Spain,” the work of Wells M. Sawyer, was
held from October 24 to November 30, 1931. It comprised 44 oil
paintings and 24 water colors. Cards for the opening view were
issued, and a catalogue was supplied by the gallery.
An exhibition in honor of the bicentennial of the birth of George
Washington, of paintings, sculpture, plans of Washington City, etc.,
was opened under the auspices of the United States Bicentennial Com-
mission and the National Commission of Fine Arts. Participating
societies include the National Sculpture Society, National Capital
Park and Planning Commission, National Gallery of Art, American
Society of Landscape Architects, American City Planning Institute,
National Society of Mural Painters, American Academy in Rome,
American Institute of Architects, American Federation of Arts, and
National Conference on City Planning. Invitations for the open-
ing exercises on March 26 were issued by the commission, and a
catalogue of exhibits has been made available by the District of
Columbia George Washington Bicentennial Commission. The ex-
hibition will close on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1932.
ART WORKS RECEIVED DURING THE YEAR
Accessions of art works by the Smithsonian Institution, subject
to transfer to the National Gallery on approval of the advisory com-
mittee of the National Gallery of Art Commission, are as follows:
Portrait of Henry Ward Ranger, by Alphonse Jongers, A. N. A.,
formerly lent by the Council of the National Academy of Design.
Gift of James Earle Fraser, New York, N. Y. (Accepted by the
commission December 8, 1931.)
Portrait of Maj. Gen. Henry Tureman Allen, United States Army,
and portrait of Gen. Robert Lee Bullard, LL. D., United States
Army, by Seymour Stone. Gift of Chester D. Pugsley, Peekskill,
N
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 31
Portrait of Rear Adm. Richard Evelyn Byrd, United States
Navy (ret.), by Seymour Stone. Gift of the artist.
Two water-color paintings of British India: Peshawar City from
the Fort, and Street in Ajmor, by William Spencer Bagdatopoulos.
Gift of the artist.
Portrait of Dr. William H. Holmes, by E. Hodgson Smart. Gift
of the artist.
John Gellatly added three framed photographs to the contents
of the portfolio of the Gellatly Collection—one of himself, one of a
portrait bust of himself by Serge Youriévitch, and one of the royal
coat of arms of Scotland. The latter bears the label:
The great Scotch authority decided that the Gellatly family’s ancestor was
the Scotch King William the Lion who reigned as King of Scotland from the
year 1165 to the year 1214, and as Royal blood flows through the Gellatly
veins they are entitled to use as their own the Royal armorial arms of
Scotland.
Portrait (full length) of John Gellatly, by Irving R. Wiles, N. A.
Gift of the artist to the Smithsonian Institution “ for association
with the Gellatly Collection.” Deposited by the Smithsonian Insti-
tution.
LOANS ACCEPTED BY THE GALLERY
A painting by George DeForest Brush, N. A., entitled “ Indian
Burial ”; lent by Mrs. George DeForest Brush.
Marble bust of Charles Evans Hughes, Chief Justice of the United
States, and plaster bust of Gen. John J. Pershing, by Moses W.
Dykaar; lent by the sculptor.
Plaster bust of Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (1792-1822),
by William Ordway Partridge (1861-1930); lent by Mrs. William
Ordway Partridge.
Framed miniature of A Lady, by Alta E. Wilmot, as a good ex-
ample of American miniature painting of the present time; lent by
the artist.
Portrait of Gen. John J. Pershing, United States Army, and por-
trait of Adm. William S. Sims, United States Navy, by E. Hodg-
son Smart; lent by the artist.
Portrait of Mrs. Charles Eames, by S. Gambardella; lent for the
summer by Mrs. A. Gordon-Cumming.
DISTRIBUTIONS
Portrait of George Washington, by Rembrandt Peale, property of
Hon. Charles S. Hamlin; withdrawn by the owner.
Portrait of Alexander Hamilton, by John Trumbull, and portrait
of Fisher Ames, by Gilbert Stuart; withdrawn by their owner, Henry
Cabot Lodge, jr.
32 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Bust in plaster of Calvin Coolidge, by Moses W. Dykaar, a gift of
the sculptor to the gallery, and a similar bust of Gen. John J.
Pershing, lent by the sculptor, were withdrawn by Mr. Dykaar for
further work. The marble bust of Hon. Nicholas Longworth was
delivered to the custody of the United States Capitol.
Portrait of George Washington, by Charles Willson Peale, the
property of John S. Beck, Washington, D. C., and portrait of Dr.
William Shippen, by Gilbert Stuart, the property of Dr. L. P.
Shippen, Washington, D. C., were temporarily withdrawn by the
owners for the Bicentennial exhibition of portraits of George Wash-
ington and his associates at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. It is
expected that these will be returned to the gallery after the close of
the celebration, November 24, 1932.
The original working model in plaster of the bronze equestrian
statue of Lafayette erected in the Square of the Louvre by the school
children of the United States in 1901, a gift to the gallery from the
sculptor, Paul Wayland Bartlett, N. A. (1865-1925), was lent to Mrs.
Bartlett for a special exhibition of her husband’s works to be held at
the American Academy of Letters, New York City, opening Novem-
ber 12, 1931, to be returned about May 1, 1932. ue statue has not
yet Beet returned to the gallery.
Four portraits—Adm. Holdup Stevens, 2d, by Robert Hinckley,
and Mrs. Stevens, his wife, artist unknown; Mrs. John Bliss, artist
unknown; and Hon. Eben Sage, by Chester Harding—were with-
drawn by the lender, Mrs. Frederick C. Hicks, Washington, D. C.
Portrait of George Washington; withdrawn by the owner, William
Patten, Rhinebeck, N. Y.
Five paintings—Madonna and Child, by Albertinelli; Portrait of
Christ, by Georgioni; The Doctor’s Visit, by Jan Steen; Baptism of
Christ, by Tiepolo; and Small Landscape, by Gainsborough—were
withdrawn from her collection by Mrs. Marshall Langhorne in
November, 1931. The Entombment, by Van der Weyden, has also
been withdrawn by Mrs. Langhorne to be restored and varnished.
A water-color painting, Dogwood Blossoms, by Elizabeth Muhl-
hofer; withdrawn by Miss Muhlhofer.
Portrait of Mrs. Charles Eames, by Gambardella, lent for the
summer by Mrs. A. Gordon-Cumming, was withdrawn in the autumn.
THE HENRY WARD RANGER FUND PURCHASES
The paintings purchased during the year by the Council of the
National Academy of Design from the fund provided by the Henry
Ward Ranger bequest, which under certain conditions are prospec-
tive additions to the National Gallery collections, are as follows,
including the names of the institutions to which they have been
assigned :
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 33
Title Artist See Assignment
1931
85. Woman in Cloak___| Robert Henri, N. A_---- .-| December_.._| Museum of Brooklyn Institute of
Arts and Sciences.
86. In My Studio_-_---- Leopold Seyffert, N. A----|----- do_--.--| Museum of Brooklyn Institute of
Arts and Sciences.
87. Eagle Lake---.----- JONAS Wie; IN Ass ee aoe ee Lee do == Towa Memorial Union, State Uni-
versity of Iowa, lowa City, Iowa.
S8niiirancess 2 S52 ste Frederick Kar] Frieseke, |----- do__._.-| Washington County Museum of
N. A. Fine Arts, Hagerstown, Md.
89. The Blavk Cloud-_--| Eugene Higgins, N. A----|-----do--~--- A. A, Anderson Gallery of Art, Col-
lege of William and Mary, Rich-
mond, Va.
1932
QOS Summers= eee W. L. Lathrop, N. A----- Januanyeee=— The Dudley Peter Allen Memorial
Art Museum, Oberlin College,
Oberlin, Ohio.
91. Joseph Pennell___--- Wayman Adams, N. A---|----- do.___--}| Addison Gallery of American Art,
Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.
92. The Fall Season_---| Bruce Crane, N. A_-------|----- do__-_.-}| University of Nebraska, School of
Fine Arts, Lincoln, Nebr.
93. Street Shrine------- Jerome Myers, N. A------|----- doles Museum of Brooklyn Institute of
Arts and Sciences.
94, Fishermen-_-_---_----- Eric Euadson, ALN. Aw es |oseo dove Topeka High School, Topeka, Kans,
95. Naney (palette- | Geo. DeForest Brush, N. | February---_| California Palace of the Legion of
knife sketch). A. Honor, San Francisco, Calif.
96. New Year Shooter-__| George Luks__------------ PACD TGs oe 2S Gallery of Fine Arts, Yale Univer-
sity, New Haven, Conn.
97. Snow Fields---_---_- Rockwellpents ss seeo = eee do_._ -.| The Minneapolis Institute of Arts,
Minneapolis, Minn.
98. Shapes of Fear____-- MiaynardaDixonee-s-s2==-|=aene dos Museum of Brooklyn Institute of
Arts and Sciences,
9$. Easterly Coming__-| Charles H. Woodbury, | June_------- Society of Liberal Arts, Joslyn Me-
N. A. morial, Omaha, Nebr.
PUBLICATIONS
Houtmers, W. H. Report on the National Gallery of Art for the year ending
June 30, 1931. Appendix 2, Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian In-
stitution for the year ending June 30, 1931, pp. 43-53.
Loner. J. EH. Report on the Freer Gallery of Art for the year ending June 30,
1931. Appendix 38, Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
for the year ending June 30, 1931, pp. 54-59.
Catalogue of paintings made in Spain and exhibited in the Salon de Exposi-
ciones del Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno, as “ Corners in Spain,” the work
of Wells M. Sawyer, on view in the National Galiery of Art, United States
National Museum Building, October 24 to November 380, 1931. Pp. 1-9.
George Washington Bicentennial Hxhibition of Commemorative Paintings,
Sculpture, and the Plan of Washington, at the National Gallery of Art, Con-
stitution Avenue at Tenth Street, Washington, D. C., March 26 to November
24, 1932. Prepared at the request of the United States George Washington
Bicentennial Commission by the National Commission of Fine Arts. This
catalogue is being made available by the District of Columbia George Wash-
ington Bicentennial Commission. Pp. 1-27.
The George Washington Bicentennial Frieze. Painted by a group of members
of the National Society of Mural Painters to commemorate the two hun-
dredth anniversary of the birth of George Washington, National Gallery
of Art, Washington, D. C., 1982. Pp. 1-14.
Respectfully submitted.
W. H. Hoimes, Director.
Dr. C. G. Axzsor,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
APPENDIX 3
REPORT ON THE FREER GALLERY OF ART
Sir: I have the honor to submit the twelfth annual report on the
Freer Gallery of Art for the year ending June 30, 1932:
THE COLLECTIONS
Additions to the collections by purchase are as follows:
BOOKBINDING
31.30. Persian, 16th century. Painted lacquer binding of the volume Khusraw
u-Shirin, by Nizami. (See below under Manuscripts, 31.29, and Paint-
ings, 31.31-81.37.)
BRONZE
32.13. Chinese, 3d century B. C. (?) Ch‘in dynasty (?). A ceremonial food
vessel with three ducks on the cover; the body has two annular
handles and is ornamented with two horizontal bands of interlacing
scroll design in delicate relief. Areas of green, blue, and red patination.
32.14. Chinese, Han dynasty (8d c. B. C-8d c. A. D.). Fire-gilt dragon head:
A terminal ornament for a chariot pole. Areas of green patination.
32.15-32.16. Chinese, Han dynasty. Two chocks, possibly chariot fittings, orna-
mented with a formal design inlaid in gold and silver.
CERAMICS
31.18. Chinese, 12th-138th century. Sung dynasty. Tz‘u-chou type. A tall,
wide-lipped flask, glazed in cream-white, and ornamented with a wide
band of carved floral design.
32.23. Persian, 12th-13th century. Rhages. Spouted pitcher with a bird in
high relief on the handle. Ornamented with a band of figures of men
and animals, in slight relief, showing traces of color and gold.
JADE
31.19. Chinese, Han dynasty. Oval cup, white, with flanged rim. The outer
surface ornamented with a ‘“rice-grain’”’ pattern, the inner with deli-
cate linear designs. The flanges are pierced.
MANUSCRIPTS
31.24. Arabic (Hgypt), 14th century. Illuminated title leaf from a Qur‘an.
Paper.
31.29. Persian, 15th century. A bound book, Khusraw %a-Shirin, by Nizami.
Painted lacquer binding (see above under Bookbinding, 31.80), illumi-
nated title leaf and six miniatures. (See below under Paintings,
31.81-81.37.)
34
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 35
§2.1-32.2. Arabie (Egypt), 14th-15th century. First two leaves from a Qur‘an;
32.3.
32.24.
31.20.
31.21.
31.22.
31.28.
31.25.
31.26.
31.27.
31.28.
31.31.
31.32.
31.33.
31.34.
31.35.
31.36.
31.37.
gold and blue illuminations on paper.
Persian, early 16th century. A bound book, Mihr-vi-Mushtari, by ’Assar
of Tabriz; dated to correspond with A. D. 1522. Illuminated first leaf
and four miniatures. (See below under Paintings, 32.4-82.8.)
. Arabic (Egypt), 16th century. The Quwur‘dn, in one volume. Text in
black naskhi; richly illuminated; paper, untrimmed.
. Armenian, 11th century. The Four Gospels in one volume (18th—19th
century binding). Parchment leaves. Text in vertical uncials, black
and golden; Ammonian sections in sloping uncials, golden. MJlumi-
nated title pages, initials, and paragraphs, and 163 miniature paintings.
Color and gold.
Indian, 15th century, Gujarati. An illuminated scroll: Vasadnta Vildsa,
a poem on spring. Text in red, black, blue, and yellow; 79 miniatures.
Color on cotton. :
PAINTINGS
Indian, Mughal, 17th century. School of Jahangir. An album leaf:
Darbar of Jahangir. Color and gold on paper.
Persian, 14th century, Mongol period. Leaf from a Shahnamah: Siya-
wush taken prisoner by Afrasiyab. Color and goid on paper.
Persian, 15th century. Two leaves from a Laila u-Majnin:
The battle between the Arab chief Noufal and the tribe of Laila;
Majnutn visited in the wilderness by the sheikh Salim.
Color and gold on paper.
Indian, late 16th century. School of Akbar. Four leaves from the orig-
inal MS. of the Tarikh-i-Alft (Chronicle of a thousand years) :
The capture of Baghdad by Tahir;
The Imam of Baghdad brought before the Caliph on a charge of heresy,
attributed to Basiwan;
A banquet given by the Caliph al-Mutawakkil, by Tiriyyaé and Brispat ;
Muwayyad put to death in the ice.
Color and gold on paper.
Persian, 17th century. Leaf from a Khusraw w-Shirin, by Nizami (see
above under Manuscripts, 31.29). An interpolated painting of a later
date than the book, a Shi‘a subject showing the Prophet and ’Ali with
twelve companions. Color and gold on paper.
Persian, 15th century. Six leaves from a Khusraw u-Shirin, by Nizami
(see above under Manuscripts, 31.29) :
Khusraw catches sight of Shirin bathing in a pool;
A hunting scene;
The sculptor Farhad brought by Shapur into the presence of Shirin;
Shirin makes a visit to Farhad at work;
Khusraw returns to the castle of Shirin;
An illuminated frontispiece and head piece.
Color and gold on paper.
Persian, early 16th century. Five leaves from a Mihr a-Mushtari, by
’Assar of Tabriz. (See above under Manuscripts, 32.8):
32.4. An illuminated frontispiece;
32.5. Prince Mihr and his friend at school;
32.6. Mihr slays a lion at one blow;
32.7. Mihr feasted in a garden by the king of Khwarizm;
149571—33—_4
36 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
32.8. The nuptials of Mihr and Nahid.
Color and gold on paper.
82.9. Persian, 16th-17th century, Safavid school. By Aqa Riza. Lady with
afan. Color and gold on paper.
82.10. Indian, 17th century. Rajput. Pahari, Basohli school. A lady and
attendant beside a lotus pool. Color, gold and silver (oxidized) on
paper.
32.11. Indian, early 19th century, Rajput. Pahari, Kangra. Dressing the
bride. Color and gold on paper.
32.12. Indian, i8th-19th century. Rajput. Pahari, Garhwal. By Mola Ram
(1760-1833). Krsna holding the hill Govardhana to protect the people
of Brndaban and their cattle from the rain poured down by Indra.
Color and gold on paper.
82.19. Arabic (Northern Mesopotamia), middle 14th century. Leaf from a copy
after the 13th century treatise on Automata by al-Jazari: part of a
water-clock with the figure of a man seated on a balcony, the so-called
“Saladin” figure. Color and gold on paper.
Arabic, early 13th century. Baghdad school. By Abdallah ibn al-Fadl.
Three leaves from an Arabic translation of the pharmacological
treatise of Dioscorides:
32.20. Two physicians preparing medicine;
32.21. Two men preparing to sow seed;
82.22. A physician and his assistant under a fruit tree. Color and gold on
paper.
SILVER-GILT
31.17. Chinese, T‘ang dynasty. A covered cup, ornamented with delicate line
engraving.
Curatorial work within the collection has been devoted to the com-
pletion of a detailed study of a Japanese mandara painting (29.2) ;
to a study of the Indian manuscript, Vasanta Vildsw (82.24); to a
critical study of the ancient Armenian manuscript of the Four Gos-
pels (82.18)—a work still in progress at the time of this report; and
to the study and recording of inscriptions on certain Buddhist stone
sculptures and of inscriptions and seals on Chinese paintings. In
the section of Near Eastern painting, translations of the text on
recently acquired Persian manuscripts have been made and recorded,
and the subjects of the miniatures identified. Besides these textual
studies, the usual work involved in cataloguing new acquisitions in
metal, jade, bronze, and painting has occupied members of the staff.
The Fenollosa collection of lantern slides of Chinese, Japanese, anc
other Eastern subjects, numbering approximately 3,000, all without
labels, as acquired by Mr. Freer in 1909, has been worked over, sub-
jects identified as far as possible, and the slides labeled and stored.
These are now available as illustrative material, in addition to the
Freer collection slides.
During the year 1,155 objects and 399 photographs of objects
were submitted to the curator by other institutions or by private
persons for expert opinion as to their identity, provenance, or histor-
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY a
ical or esthetic value. Twenty-six inscriptions were submitted for
translation. Reports on these things were made to owners or senders.
THE LIBRARY
During the year the library has been increased by 254 volumes, 32
unbound periodicals, and 41 pamphlets. In addition, 122 bulletins,
reports, and catalogues were received.
Since the date of the last report the cataloguing of the library has
been completed. Indexing of foreign periodical publications, includ-
ing bound volumes of Xokka and T‘oung Pao, has been begun.
LECTURES
Lectures offered to the public during the past year have been as
follows:
In November—A series of lectures with lantern slides on The
Literary Backgrounds of Islamic Painting in Persia, by Sir E. Deni-
son Ross, of the School of Oriental Studies, London—
November 21: The Epics.
November 28: Timurid Literature.
November 25: Safavid Literature.
On Friday, January 22, an illustrated lecture on the excavations
at the Tell Halaf in northern Syria, entitled “The Wonders of the
Tell Halaf,” by the excavator, Dr. Baron Max von Oppenheim.
On Tuesday, March 1, an illustrated lecture on The Ancient Art
of Siberia, by Dr. Alfred Salmony, director of the Museum fiir
Ostasiatische Kunst, Cologne.
ATTENDANCE
The gallery has been open every day from 9 until 4.30 o’clock, with
the exception of Mondays, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
The total attendance of visitors coming in at the main entrance
was 122,940—week days, 78,247; Sundays, 44,6938. This year the
average Sunday attendance was more than three times that of an
average week day, 859 being the average for Sunday and 251 that
for a week day. As before, the highest monthly total attendances
were reached in April (14,655) and August (12,653); the lowest
attendance was, as usual, in December (6,573).
The total lecture attendance was 825, with an average of 165. To-
gether with visitors admitted to the offices on Mondays (15), the
total attendance at the gallery during the year was 123,780.
There were 1,901 visitors to the offices during the year. Of these,
91 came for general information, 268 to see objects in storage, 37 to
examine the building and installation, 142 to study in the library,
187 to see the facsimiles of the Washington manuscripts, 35 to get
38 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
permission to make photographs and sketches, 229 to examine or
purchase photographs, 114 to submit objects for examination, 482
to see members of the staff. Fifty-four groups, ranging from 1 to
43 persons (total, 168), were given docent service, and 15 groups,
ranging from 4 to 19 persons (total, 133), were given instruction in
the study rooms.
FIELD WORK
At the time of this writing a full report of recent archeological
work undertaken by the field staff in Shansi Province, China, is
being printed by Kelly & Walsh (Ltd.), of Shanghai. It will be
printed in both English and Chinese, arranged dos-d-dos, and
illustrated with numerous plates, line drawings, and plans.
A second and more comprehensive report, dealing with all the
work accomplished by the field staff since 1922, and especially with
the painted pottery sites excavated around Wan Ch‘iian in Shansi,
will follow the first. It will include several color plates, as well as
the usual illustrative material, and will also be printed in both
languages by the same firm.
PERSONNEL
Since October 28, Y. Kinoshita has been empioyed as mounter of
oriental paintings and is now permanently employed at the gallery.
On March 28, 1932, the Freer Gallery suffered a loss in the death
of Levin C. Handy, who since June 1, 1922, had done all of the
photographic work at the gallery.
William Acker, student assistant, having completed his studies at
the University of Leyden, is on his way to Washington where he
will be attached to the Freer Gallery for the next several months.
Respectfully submitted.
J. EK. Lover, Curator.
Dr. C. G. Axszor,
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
APPENDIX 4
REPORT ON THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera-
tions of the Bureau of American Ethnology during the fiscal year
ended June 30, 1932, conducted in accordance with the act of Con-
gress approved February 23, 1931. The act referred to contains the
following item:
American ethnology: For continuing ethnological researches among the
American Indians and the natives of Hawaii, the excavation and preservation
of archeologic remains under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, in-
cluding necessary employees, the preparation of manuscripts, drawings, and
illustrations, the purchase of books and periodicals, and traveling expenses,
$72,640.
M. W. Stirling, chief, left New York on September 26, 1931, as a
member of the Latin American expedition to South America. The
first region visited by the expedition was the San Blas coast of
Panama. Here Mr. Stirling spent approximately a month in mak-
ing an ethnological survey of the Tule Indians. From Panama the
expedition proceeded to Ecuador, where three weeks were spent in
investigating archeological sites in the Andean highlands in the
vicinity of Cuenca. After crossing the Andes and descending to the
frontier post of Mendez, three months were spent among the Jivaro
Indians of the Santiago and Maranon Rivers. The expedition crossed
the mountains from Mendez to the upper Yaupe River. They then
descended the Yaupe to the Santiago, passing down this river to its
junction with the Maranon. Much of the time was spent living
with the Jivaros in their own houses, where Mr. Stirling was able to
record first-hand a considerable quantity of ethnological data. In
addition to this a collection was made representing the material
culture of the Indians of the region. After a short excursion up the
Alto Maranon, the expedition passed through the famous Pongo
Manseriche, descending by rafts to Iquitos, from which point the
collections were shipped by way of the Amazon River to the National
Museum. Mr. Stirling returned to Washington on April 26, 1932.
Dr. John R. Swanton, ethnologist, was in the field from November
2 to December 6, 1931, his object being the location of the route fol-
lowed by De Soto and Moscoso through Arkansas and Louisiana
from 1541 to 1543. He was the guest for a part of this time of Col.
John R. Fordyce, of Hot Springs National Park, Ark. More suc-
39
40 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
cess was attained in determining the probable course of the Span-
iards than had been anticipated. While in the field he also collected
linguistic material from the Tunica Indians near Marksville, La.
There are supposed to be only three individuals who can still use
the old tongue.
Doctor Swanton devoted a large part of his time to continuing
preparation of the Handbook of the Southeastern Indians, and a be-
ginning has been made on a bulletin to include the linguistic material
of the Coahuiltecan tongues now extinct. The work of copying the
tribal map of the Indians of North America has been practically
completed.
Dr. Truman Michelson, ethnologist, was at work among the South-
ern Cheyenne at the beginning of the fiscal year. The object was
to restore phonetically some Cheyenne words previously extracted
from Petter’s Dictionary which were clearly Algonquian in origin.
Measurements were taken of some 23 subjects, and a good deal of
new ethnological information was obtained. Near the middle of
July Doctor Michelson left for Tama, Iowa, to obtain some addi-
tional material on Fox ceremonials. Early in August he left Iowa
and went among the Northern Cheyenne to restore the list of
Cheyenne words mentioned above according to Northern Cheyenne
phonetics. Incidentally a really representative group of Northern
Cheyenne were measured. A statistical study has shown that the
vault of the skull is decidedly low as compared with that of most
Algonquian peoples and rather resembles the skull of the Dakota
Sioux. In June, 1932, Doctor Michelson again left for the field.
He succeeded in gaining some important sociological data on the
Kiowa and obtained some new facts on Cheyenne linguistics,
sociology, and mythology.
John P. Harrington, ethnologist, made a thorough study of the
Indians of Monterey and San Benito Counties, in central California,
and investigated the little known Chingichngich culture of the coast
of southern California. Working with the oldest survivors of the
Costanoan and Esselen speaking Indians of Monterey and San
Benito Counties, Mr. Harrington found it possible by fully utilizing
all the early records and vocabularies to illuminate the former life
of these people and to define it as clearly as that of some of the better
known western groups. The study demonstrated that this culture
indicates a key region for central California ethnology, since it
proved to be a connecting link between the cultures of northern and
southern California. These Indians lived on a wooded mountain-
ous coast, the northern breaking down of the great Santa Lucia
Range, in a broad interior valley, known in early times as la canada
del rio de Monterey and now as the Salinas Valley, and in the hilly
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 41
region between coast and valley, and east of the valley. The region
was rich in fish, shellfish, game, and in vegetable foods and medic-
inal herbs. Labor was roughly divided between men and women,
the men tending to the animal food and the women to the vegetable.
The houses were built of poles and thatch, shaped like a half
orange, with smoke hole at the top, and slightly sunk in the ground.
The people lived in villages and were governed by the village chief
and elders. One or more sweathouses were to be found at each vil-
lage. The people hardened themselves to going the year around with
little or no clothing in the mild climate, and the dense morning fogs
did not keep them from rising at daylight and taking the daily morn-
ing plunge. A bride was taken to live at the house of her husband’s
people or to a new house built near there. A captain, or even an
ordinary man, would sometimes have two or more wives, but monog-
amy was the rule. One of the important discoveries is that the
people had clans.
From July 1 to September 22, 1931, Dr. F. H. H. Roberts, jr.,
archeologist, continued excavations at the site 314 miles south of
Allantown, Ariz., where work was started in May of the previous
fiscal year. The Laboratory of Anthropology of Santa Fe, N. Mex.,
cooperated in the project through July and August. The summer’s
work resulted in the excavation of the subterranean portions of 14
structures. The excavations showed that several of the dwellings
had been destroyed by fire. The charred remnants of timbers lying
on the floors demonstrated clearly the method of roof construction.
The details were so clearly shown in one of the houses that it was
restored so that visitors to the site might see what dwellings of that
type were like. Two other pits were covered with shed roofs so that
they will be preserved for a long time to come. The Douglass method
of determination gave dates ranging from 814 to 916 A. D. On
February 1 Doctor Roberts left Washington for Yucatan, having
been detailed to the Carnegie Institution of Washington in the
capacity of consulting archeologist. He spent 10 days at Chichen
Itza, during which time he gained much first-hand information con-
cerning the character of the ancient Mayan civilizations, and also
visited Uxmal, the pyramids at San Juan de Teotihuacan, and sev-
eral other important archeological sites in the vicinity of Mexico
City. While in Mexico City he had the opportunity of seeing and
examining the various objects found at Monte Alban by the expedi-
tion under Prof. A. Caso. Doctor Roberts left Washington on May
21 to resume his researches at the site south of Allantown, Ariz.
Excavations were commenced on June 2, and by June 30 the remains
of two additional pit houses had been cleared of the accumulated
débris, and the remains of seven slab-lined storage cists uncovered.
4? ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
In addition 15 burials belonging to the habitation group were found.
One of the pit structures uncovered had been destroyed by fire, and
the charred timbers furnished one of the earliest building dates thus
far obtained in the Southwest, namely, 797 A. D.
On July 10, 1931, Dr. W. D. Strong entered upon his duties as
ethnologist in the bureau. Early in August he left for a reconnais-
sance trip through central and western Nebraska, central South
Dakota, and western North Dakota. Evidence of a prehistoric cul-
ture believed to pertain to the early Pawnee was followed up the
Republican River and west as far as Scottsbluff. Here a very im-
portant stratified site on Signal Butte was investigated, and after
arranging for complete excavation the next summer, Doctor Strong
continued the survey trip up the Missouri River. Many large pre-
historic villages of the sedentary tribes in this region were visited
and their locations and characteristics noted for future investigation.
The survey ended with a visit to the living Arikara Indians on the
Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. Many good informants
were visited and preliminary ethnological work on the life and cus-
toms of this very important agricultural people was commenced.
During the autumn and winter of 1931-32 the text and illustrations
of a manuscript entitled “An Introduction to Nebraska Archeology ”
were prepared.
On May 25, 1932, Doctor Strong left for Lincoln, Nebr., and on
June 15 excavations were commenced in the stratified deposits on the
top of Signal Butte. Large collections of specimens from all three
levels were secured, especially from the lowest level of occupation,
which was very thick and gave evidence of great antiquity. Marked
cultural differences between the three levels were apparent during the
excavation work. Burials, both complete and partial, were found in
the upper level, but no burials were encountered in the lowest level,
though fragments of human bone were found. It is already certain
that the unusual case of stratigraphy present on the summit of Signal
Butte will, when the material has been studied in detail, yield clear
evidence of an extensive sequence of cultural and artifact types for
the high plains region of central North America.
J. N. B. Hewitt, ethnologist, completed the revision and the edit-
ing of the manuscript journal of the Swiss artist, Rudolph Fried-
erich Kurz, for publication by the bureau. He also made an inten-
sive study of the internal organic structure of the Iroquois and the
Huron (Wyandot) clan, which was a most important unit of social
and political organization. This investigation revealed some hith-
erto unnoted and disregarded organic features of clan structure.
The results of this study were submitted for publication. In addition
he continued his work of coordinating the variant versions of tra-
ditional and ceremonial matters recorded in native text in the
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 43
Mohawk, the Cayuga, and the Onondaga vernaculars. In addition
to the four myths of the Wind Gods mentioned in the previous
report, five others of this series of texts were completed, as was also
the paper dealing with the decipherment of an interesting series of
mnemonic pictographs. Mr. Hewitt represents the Smithsonian In-
stitution on the United States Geographic Board, and as a member
of its executive committee has much active research work to do.
On May 11, 1932, Mr. Hewitt resumed his ethnological researches
among the Iroquois members of the former Six Nations of Indians
on the Grand River Grant, near Brantford, Ontario, Canada. His
investigations began with a study of the permanency and the re-
maining cohesive power of the clan among these people, and of its
influence, if any, on the social and political activities of these Indians
to-day. He found what had been superficially apparent for some
time, namely, that the clan structure and authority had become com-
pletely forgotten, and so maintained no effective guidance in social
and political affairs. David Thomas, a former chief of the Cayuga
and an intelligent man, of the Grand River Reservation, dictated a
number of traditional and interpretative Cayuga texts dealing with
certain phases of the ancient league rituals. John Buck, sr., a former
Tutelo chief, supplied further information relating to the Wind
Gods, and he also gave much assistance in interpreting league texts
already recorded by Mr. Hewitt.
Winslow M. Walker, associate anthropologist, was in the field at
the beginning of the year, exploring certain caves in the Ozark
region of north central Arkansas. A large cavern at Cedar Grove
yielded the burials of 12 individuals and a considerable number of
artifacts and articles of rough stone, chipped flint, bone, shell, and
crude undecorated potsherds heavily shell-tempered. The resem-
blance to the culture of the Ozark Bluff Dwellers described by M. R.
Harrington is very marked. The skeletal remains indicate a long-
headed people of moderate stature, the so-called “ pre-Algonkin
type.” Three localities were found where there were petrographs—
both carved and painted symbols and figures—but the designs at
each of these sites were different and distinctive, and they could not
be correlated with any of the Bluff Dweller caves.
In the middle of July Mr. Walker went to Louisiana, where for
a month explorations of mound and village sites in various parts of
northern Louisiana were undertaken, principally in the Red River
and Mississippi Valleys. At Natchitoches, on Red River, while
preparations were going on for the construction of some ponds for
a new Government fish hatchery, an ancient Indian burial ground
was discovered. Mr. Walker arrived in time to save some of the
skeletal material and fragments of a beautiful highly decorated and
polished pottery. The period from January to June was spent in
44 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
the compiling of an index of all archeological sites so far reported
from the region of the lower Mississippi Valley, with maps showing
the location of these sites in the States of Louisiana and Arkansas.
From the study of the material found at Natchitoches a paper
has been prepared for publication entitled “Discovery of a Caddo
Site at Natchitoches, Louisiana.” The results of this study seem to
justify the conclusion that this was the burial ground of the tribe
of the Natchitoches, a branch of the Caddo, found inhabiting this
location by Henri de Tonti in 1690. The beautful polished and
engraved pottery is very similar to that made by the Ouachita
Indians living along the river of that name in Louisiana and
Arkansas.
SPECIAL RESEARCHES
The study of Indian music was continued during the past year by
Miss Frances Densmore, a collaborator of the bureau. The three
outstanding results of the year’s work are a study of the Peyote cult
and its songs among the Winnebago Indians, an intensive study of
the songs and customs of the Seminole in Florida, and the comple-
tion for publication of a manuscript entitled “ Nootka and Quileute
Music.” In addition, numerous Pueblo songs recorded in 1930 have
been transcribed and other Pueblo songs recorded. Eight manu-
scripts and the transcriptions of 109 songs have been submitted,
together with the phonographic records and complete analyses of the
songs.
Field trips were made to Wisconsin Dells in August and Septem-
ber, 1931. The first trip was devoted to the Pueblo work, the re-
cording of Winnebago dance songs, and a continuance of the general
study of the Winnebago. Following this a visit was made to a
basket makers’ camp near Holmen, Wis., where the ceremonial songs
of the John Rave branch of the Peyote organization were recorded
by William Thunder, a leader in the ceremony. On the second trip
to Wisconsin Dells the ceremonial songs of the Jesse Clay branch
of the organization were recorded by James Yellowbank, who is a
leader in that branch. In September, 1931, and in June, 1982, the
study of peyote was continued with Winnebago Indians.
On November 6, 1931, Miss Densmore arrived in Miami, Fla., to
resume a study of the Seminole Indians begun in January. During
the early part of her stay the work was conducted in the Seminole
villages at Musa Isle and Dania and in three camps on the Tamiami
Trail between Miami and Everglades. Sixty-five songs were re-
corded by Panther (known as Josie Billie), a leader in the Big
Cypress band of the tribe. He is a medicine man in regular practice,
and his work was sometimes interrupted by his attendance upon the
sick,
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 45
Early in February Miss Densmore went to Fort Myers and made
a trip to remote villages in the Everglades under the guidance of
Stanley Hanson of that city. Then she went to the region west of
Lake Okeechobee and recorded 125 songs at Brighton from Billie
Stuart, a leader of singers in the Cow Creek group of Seminoles.
Returning to Miami, work was resumed at Musa Isle. Additional
songs were recorded by Panther, and an important tradition was
related by Billie Motlo, one of the few remaining old men of the
tribe.
MISCELLANEOUS
Seven bulletins of the bureau were issued during the year; for
a list of these see the report on publications, Appendix 11.
In the library there were accessioned during the year 400 volumes,
150 pamphlets, and 3,400 serials. For further details see the report
on the library, Appendix 10.
COLLECTIONS
Accession No.
115902. Collection of archeological material collected by M. W. Stirling at
various sites in Alabama and Florida in 1981. (148 specimens.) j
114568. Archeological and skeletal material collected for the Bureau of Ameri-
ean Ethnology by F. M. Setzler from various sites in Texas in 1931.
(69 specimens. )
115562. Archeological and ethnological objects collected for the Bureau of
American Ethnology by Neil M. Judd on the San Carlos Indian
Reservation, Gila County, Ariz. (49 specimens.)
115827. Specimens of shell from Horrs Island, Fla., collected by M. W. Stirling
in 1981. (3 specimens. )
117184. Archeological material collected in 1931 by W. M. Walker from caves
and rock shelters in the Ozark region of north central Arkansas,
occupying portions of Searcy and Marion Counties. (23 specimens.)
During the course of the year information was furnished by mem-
bers of the bureau staff in reply to numerous inquiries concerning
the North American Indians, both past and present, and the Mexi-
can peoples of the prehistoric and early historic periods. Various
specimens sent to the bureau were identified and data on them fur-
nished for their owners.
Personnel.—Dr. William Duncan Strong was appointed as eth-
nologist on the staff of the bureau on July 10, 1931. Miss Marion
Illig was appointed as junior stenographer on September 1, 1931.
De Lancey Gill was retired as illustrator on June 30, 1932, by
operation of the economy bill.
Respectfully submitted,
M. W. Srietine, Chief.
Dr. C, G. Axor,
Secretary, Snuthsonian Institution.
APPENDIX 5
REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE SERVICE
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the
operations of the International Exchange Service during the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1932:
The congressional appropriation for the support of the service
during 1932 was $54,060, an increase of $1,250 over that for 1931.
Of this increase, $1,000 was for freight and $250 for boxes. The
Institution received as repayments from departmental and other
establishments $5,056.23, making the total resources available during
the year $59,116.23.
The total number of packages received for distribution through
the service, from both domestic and foreign sources was 759,035, an
increase over the previous year of 117,697, or about 18 per cent. The
greater part of this increase was in the parliamentary documents
forwarded abroad.
The publications sent and received by the service are classified as
parliamentary documents, departmental documents, and miscellane-
ous scientific and literary publications. The number and weight of
packages containing the publications coming under these headings
are as follows:
Packages Weight
Sent Received| Sent Received
Pounds | Pounds
United States parliamentary documents sent abroad__________- SEZ NS | se meee T8435), eae ee eee
Publications received in return for parliamentary documents-_-_-_|.----_-__-|_- WA OF4 tity Ao ee 31, 674
United States departmental documents sent abroad___________- TSSSG Ti yl ee 1559700 a saree
Publications received in return for departmental documents___-|.---_-.--- KARE S| eee tat a 25, 043
Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications sent abroad__} 146,866 |__--__-__- 22); 42D Soe eee
Miscellaneous scientific and literary publications received from
abroad for distribution in the United States_____..._____--___]__---_---- 40° 8730 |a=seeeeees 102, 316
Uf We) 2) ees a ee ea YS Na pe ew Mee ee See ee eet ees 698, 214 60, 821 501, 617 159, 033
Grand totalLé. 24 22063 = bi Po a Pe ste eee aye 759,035 660,650
It will be seen from the foregoing table that about 75 per cent
of the work of the office during the year has been conducted in behalf
of United States governmental establishments.
The total number of boxes used in dispatching consignments
abroad was 2,652, a decrease of 350 from the preceding year. Of
these boxes, 605 were for the foreign depositories of full sets of
46
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 47
United States governmental documents, and the remainder (2,047)
were for distribution to miscellaneous establishments and individuals.
While the Smithsonian Exchange Service, as a rule, transmits its
consignments to other countries in boxes, it is more economical to
forward certain shipments direct to their destinations by mail, and
during the year the number of packages sent abroad in this manner
was 85,485, an increase of 8,826 over the number mailed last year.
The decrease in the number of boxes forwarded abroad in 1931 and
1982 and the increase in the number of packages transmitted by
mail during the same period were due to the sending since January 1,
1931, of the greater part of the packages for British correspondents
direct by mail.
FOREIGN DEPOSITORIES OF GOVERNMENTAL DOCUMENTS
The total number of sets of United States official documents for-
warded to foreign depositories is 112, 62 full and 50 partial.
The full set of official documents sent to the Prefecture of the
Seine has, at the request of the Library of Congress, been discon-
tinued and forwarded to the American Library in Paris. The partial
set of documents sent to Bengal is now addressed: “Assistant Secre-
tary to the Government of Bengal, Department of Education,
Writers’ Buildings, Calcutta.” The series of governmental docu-
ments sent to Northern Ireland are now addressed to the “ Superin-
tendent of His Majesty’s Stationery Office, Custom House, Belfast.”
A list of the depositories is given in the report for 1931.
INTERPARLIAMENTARY EXCHANGE OF THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL
The following have been added to the list of those establishments
receiving copies of the daily issue of the Congressional Record:
Office Nationale du Commerce Extérieur, Paris; Reichsfinanzminis-
terium, Berlin; Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican City.
These three new depositories, after allowing for the elimination of
the set sent to Barcelona, which was discontinued, make the total
number of copies of the Congressional Record forwarded to foreign
depositories 104.
The depository of the Record in Aracaju, Brazil, has been changed
to Bibliotheca Publica de Sergipe, Aracaju. For a list of the states
taking part in the immediate exchange of the official journal, together
with the names of the establishments to which the Record is mailed,
see the report for 1931.
A list of the agencies abroad through which the distribution of
exchanges is effected is given below. Most of these agencies for-
ward consignments to the Institution for distribution in the United
States.
-
48 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
LIST OF EXCHANGH AGENCIES
ALGERIA, via France.
ANGOLA, via Portugal.
ARGENTINA: Comisi6n Protectora de Bibliotecas Populares, Calle Callao 1540,
Buenos Aires.
Austria: Internationale Austauschstelle, Bundeskanzleramt, Herrengasse 23,
Vienna I.
AZORES, via Portugal.
BrE.eium: Service Belge des Echanges Internationaux, Rue des Longs-Chariots,
46, Brussels.
Botivia: Oficina Nacional de Hstadistica, La Paz.
Brazi_: Servico de Permutacdes Internacionaes, Bibliotheca Nacional, Rio de
Janeiro.
BrITIsH CoLonies: Crown Agents for the Colonies, London.
BRITISH GUIANA: Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society, Georgetown.
BritisH Honpuras: Colonial Secretary, Belize.
Buuearia: Institutions Scientifiques de S. M. le Roi de Bulgarie, Sofia.
CanapA: Sent by mail.
CANARY ISLANDS, via Spain.
CuILE: Servicio de Canjes Internacionales, Biblioteca Nacional, Santiago.
CHINA: Bureau of International Exchange, Academia Sinica, 881 Avenue du
Roi Albert, Shanghai.
CoLomMBIA: Oficina de Canjes Internacionales y Reparto, Biblioteca Nacional,
Bogota.
Costa Rica: Oficina de Depdsito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, San
José.
CuBA: Sent by mail.
CzECHOSLOVAKIA!: Service Tchécoslovaque des Echanges Internationaux, Biblio-
théque de 1’Assemblée Nationale, Prague 1-79.
Danzig: Amt fiir den Internationalen Schriftenaustausch der Freien Stadt
Danzig, Stadtbibliothek, Danzig.
DENMARK: Service Danois des Echanges Internationaux, Kongelige Danske
Videnskabernes Selskab, Copenhagen.
DutcH Gurana: Surinaamsche Koloniale Bibliotheek, Paramaribo.
Ecuapor: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Quito.
Eeyet: Bureau des Publications, Ministére des Finances, Cairo.
Estonia: Riigiraamatukogu (State Library), Tallinn (Reval).
FINLAND: Delegation of the Scientific Societies of Finland, Helsingfors.
FRANCE: Service Francais des Nchanges Internationaux, 110 Rue de Grenelle,
Paris.
GERMANY: Amerika-Institut, Universititstrasse 8, Berlin, N. W. 7.
Great BRITAIN AND IRELAND: Messrs. Wheldon & Wesley, 2, 3, and 4 Arthur
St., New Oxford St., London W. C. 2.
GREECE: Bibliothéque Nationale, Athens.
GREENLAND, via Denmark.
GUATEMALA: Instituto Nacional de Varones, Guatemala.
Haitr: Secrétaire d’Mtat des Relations Extérieures, Port-au-Prince.
Honpuras: Biblioteca Nacional, Tegucigalpa.
Hungary: Hungarian Libraries Board, Budapest, IV.
ICELAND, via Denmark.
InpIA: Superintendent of Stationery, Bombay.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 49
Iraty: R. Ufficio degli Scambi Internazionali, Ministero dell’ Educazione Na-
zionale, Rome.
JAMAICA: Institute of Jamaica, Kingston.
JAPAN: Imperial Library of Japan, Tokyo.
JAVA, via Netherlands.
Korea: Sent by mail.
Latvia: Service des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque d’Etat de Lettonie,
Riga.
LisperiA: Bureau of Exchanges, Department of State, Monrovia.
LITHUANIA: Sent by mail.
LOURENCO MArRQuEz, via Portugal.
LUXEMBURG, Via Belgium.
MADAGASCAR, Via France.
MApeiRA, Via Portugal.
Mexico: Sent by mail.
MOZAMBIQUE, via Portugal.
NETHERLANDS: International Exchange Bureau of the Netherlands, Royal
Library, The Hague.
New SoutH WatEs: Public Library of New South Wales, Sydney.
New ZEALAND: Dominion Museum, Wellington.
NICARAGUA: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Managua.
Norway: Service Norvégien des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque de
l'Université Royale, Oslo.
PALESTINE: Hebrew University Library, Jerusalem.
PANAMA: Sent by mail.
PARAGUAY: Seccidn Canje Internacional de Publicaciones del Ministerio de
Relaciones Exteriores, Estrella 563, Asuncion.
Peru: Oficina de Reparto, Depdosito y Canje Internacional de Publicaciones,
Ministerio de Fomento, Lima.
PoLAND: Service Polonais des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Na-
tionale, Warsaw.
PORTUGAL: Seccao de Trocas Internacionaes, Biblioteca Nacional, Lisbon.
QUEENSLAND: Bureau of Exchanges of International Publications, Chief Secre-
tary’s Department, Brisbane. -
RumAnIA: Bureau des Echanges Internationaux, Institut Météorologique Cen-
tral, Bucharest.
Russia: Academy of Sciences, Leningrad.
SALvapor: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, San Salvador.
Sram: Department of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok.
SoutH AvsTRALIA: South Australian Government Exchanges Bureau, Govern-
ment Printing and Stationery Office, Adelaide.
SPAIN: Servicio de Cambio Internacional de Publicaciones, Paseo de Recoletos
20, Madrid. E
Sumatra, via Netherlands.
SWEDEN: Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Akademien, Stockholm.
SWITZERLAND: Service Suisse des Echanges Internationaux, Bibliothéque Cen-
trale Fédérale, Berne.
Syria: American University of Beirut.
TASMANIA: Secretary to the Premier, Hobart.
Trinipap: Royal Victoria Institute of Trinidad and Tobago, Port-of-Spain.
TUNIS, via France.
TURKEY: Robert College, Istanbul,
50 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Union or SourH Arrica: Government Printing Works, Pretoria, Transvaal.
Urvueuay: Oficina de Canje Internacional de Publicaciones, Montevideo.
VENEZUELA: Biblioteca Nacional, Caracas.
Victoria: Public Library of Victoria, Melbourne.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA: Public Library of Western Australia, Perth.
YUGOSLAVIA: Ministére des Affaires Etrangéres, Belgrade.
Respectfully submitted.
C. W. SHOEMAKER,
Chief Clerk, International Exchange Service.
Dr. CHartes G. ABBOT,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
APPENDIX 6
REPORT ON THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK?
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the
operations of the National Zoological Park for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1932:
The regular appropriation made by Congress for the maintenance
of the park was $255,540—an increase of $34,020 over 1931. Of this
amount, $4,500 was made immediately available upon the approval
of the act on February 23, 1931, for the construction of quarters to
house the Victor J. Evans Collection. In addition, $4,500 was
appropriated and made available upon approval of the act for the
preparation of plans and specifications for the small mammal house,
the next unit in the building program for the development of the Zoo.
ACCESSIONS
Gifis—Chief among the gifts this year are Okero and Teddy,
the baby mountain gorilla and chimpanzee, brought by Mr. and
Mrs. Martin Johnson. These two animals are being raised together
and constitute one of the most attractive exhibits in the park. The
receipt of the mountain gorilla made it possible to exhibit both the
lowland and mountain forms of this rare group. Samuel Kress, of
the United Fruit Co., of Costa Rica, has continued his interest and
sent a fine jabiru stork and a peccary. R. E. Stadelman, of the
Serpentarium at Tela, Honduras, presented the park with Chancho,
a white-lipped peccary, as well as a number of other interesting
specimens. Vincent Astor, of New York City, presented two Gala-
pagos iguanas. Acquisitions under the proceeds from the Frederic D.
Barstow fund, which first became available for use this year, made
possible the accession of a pair of tricolored squirrels, highly colored,
active, and interesting little animals from the Malay Peninsula. The
proceeds from the Frances Brinklé Zerbee Memorial Fund were used
for keeping the aquarium section stocked.
NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK EXPEDITION
With funds provided especially in the regular appropriation act
for the park, the director, accompanied by Assistant Head Keeper
1The complete list of animals in the collection, usually printed with this report, has
had to be omitted this year owing to shortage of printing funds. Mimeographed copies
of the list may be obtained by writing to the Director, National Zoologigal Park,
Washington, D. C.
149571—33——_5 51
52 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
F. O. Lowe, sailed from New York July 22, 1931, for Georgetown,
British Guiana. Collecting was carried on in two general regions—
the Pomeroon and Mackenzie districts—and although the earlier por-
tion of the trip was a disappointment, 317 specimens were success-
fully landed at the Zoo on October 11, 1931. These comprised 13
species of mammals, 25 species of birds, and 31 species of reptiles and
amphibians. This exhibit brought a number of species into the Zoo
for exhibition for the first time. Surplus specimens were imme-
diately exchanged with other zoos.
On this trip the party was assisted greatly by His Excellency Sir
Edward Denham, the Governor of British Guiana; Messrs. Hender-
son and Rucker, of the Bauxite Co., of British Guiana; Dr. George
Gigholi, himself an ardent naturalist, who presented some of his
pets to the expedition; and F. M. Walcott, of Hope Estate, who gave
an ocelot.
While no Surinam toads were obtained on this trip, arrangements
were made which later resulted in the receipt of 90 specimens in good
condition, through the kindness of Captain Lum, of the Munson
Steamship Line, who brought them to New York from Paramaribo.
This placed on exhibition a large group of this rare toad, and enabled
us to exchange specimens for exhibition with other zoos.
DONORS AND THEIR GIFTS
Stuart Abraham, Braddock Heights, Md., copperhead.
Roy Adams, Washington, D. C., snapping turtle.
Mrs. M. W. Arps, Washington, D. C., ring-necked dove.
Vincent Astor, New York City, two Galapagos iguanas.
Charles A. Baker, 2d, Baltimore, Md., kinkajou.
Dr. Paul Bartsch, United States National Museum, Washington, D. C.,
Jamaican snail.
F. H. Benjamin, United States Plant Quarantine and Control Administration,
Orlando, Fla., Florida cooter, Osceola snapping turtle, two Florida box turtles.
Robert L. Bieber, Potomac, Md., goat.
J. B. Bland, Washington, D. C., alligator.
Miss Blondell, Washington, D. C., tarantula.
Mr. and Mrs. J. S. C. Boswell, Alexandria, Va., California king snake, three
Boyle’s king snakes.
M. K. Brady, Washington, D. C., king cr chain snake, 2 common fence lizards,
2 blue-tailed skinks, marbled salamander, 12 Stejneger’s anolis.
C. J. Brahm, Philadelphia, Pa., Chinese mantis.
Messrs. HE. J. and S. K. Brown, Eustis, Fla., coral snake, scarlet snake, water
snake, two corn snakes, hog-nosed snake, chicken snake, two Florida king snakes.
Meredith and Walker Buel, Washington, D. C., common fence lizard.
Allen M. Burdett, Washington, D. C., two alligators.
C. R. Burnett, Richmond, Va., white-fronted parrot, yellow-fronted parrot.
Dr. Charles E. Burt, Southwestern College, Winfield, Kans., three slender
burrowing snakes, two western ring-necked snakes, brown skink, two collared
lizards, two blacksnakes, five ornate tortoises, western or blue racer.
F, G. Carnochan, New York City, canvasback duck, two mallard ducks.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY fies
R. R. Carpenter, Wilmington, Del., curl-tail lizard.
Bernard Cawill, Silver Spring, Md., two coyotes.
Kenneth Clow, Washington, D. C., capuchin monkey.
Miss Doris M. Cochran, United States National Museum, Washington, D. C.,
2 scorpions, 22 water snakes.
Mrs. R. Cohen, Bowie, Md., three angora goats.
Dr. F. V. Coville, United States Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, D. C.,
seven chuckwallas.
Mrs. Annie T. Craley, Washington, D. C., yellow-fronted parrot.
Miss Amelia Crawford, Washington, D. C., alligator.
Mrs. J. H. Cummings, Wilmington, N. C., two glass snakes, six-lined lizard,
anolis.
R. O. E. Davis, Washington, D. C., barred owl.
Allen DeFord, Washington, D. C., alligator.
Charles F. Denley, Rockville, Md., four golden pheasants.
Miss Grace Deyendorf, Washington, D. C., mynah.
F. I. Donn, Washington, D. C., common gallinule.
M. C. Dowling, Bethesda, Md., 11 horned lizards.
Mrs. Bertha Duncan, Washington, D. C., red fox.
BE. W. Ebmann, Piedmont, Fla., six baldpates, six pintail ducks.
Dr. Wm. O. Emery, United States Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, Washing-
ton, D. C., three blind worms.
Mrs. C. L. Emmart, Baltimore, Md., alligator.
F. W. Engle, Washington, D. C., common boa.
William Engle, Washington, D. C., canary.
I. B. Faidley, Falls Church, Va., coot.
Dr. David Fairchild, Washington, D. C., two hermit crabs.
Mrs. R. W. Ferguson, Fernandino, Fla., two Florida skunks.
F. T. Fitch, Buchanan, Va., duck hawk.
H. J. Gibson, Washington, D. C., blacksnake.
Dr. George Giglioli, Mackenzie, British Guiana, deer, curassow.
Norman Gilillan, Washington, D. C., hog-nosed snake.
Mrs. Goodloe, Washington, D. C., opossum.
Alex Goodman, Washington, D. C., woodchuck.
R. H. Gordon, Washington, D. C., horned lizard.
W. B. Grange, United States Bureau of Biological Survey, Agassiz’s tortoise,
three horned lizards, spiny swift, spiny-tailed lizard.
Miss Hawthorne, Washington, D. C., sparrow hawk.
Miss L. 2. Hemington, Washington, D. C., six canaries,
Horace Hicks, Washington, D. C., DeKay’s snake.
James P. Holloway, Washington, D. C., rhesus monkey.
C. H. Holmes, Washington, D. C., red-tailed hawk.
R. Bruce Horsfall, Nature Magazine, Washington, D. C., corn snake.
S. R. Hughes, Leesburg, Va., common loon.
Mr. and Mrs. Martin Johnson, New York City, chimpanzee, mountain gorilla.
Walter Johnson, Bethesda, Md., silver pheasant, golden pheasant, two
lineated pheasants.
D. C. Jonhas, Washington, D. C., box tortoise, garter snake, common anolis.
E. S. Joseph, New York City, lung fish.
Mr. Keith, Georgetown, S. C., 5 water moccasins, 2 blacksnakes, 2 water
snakes, 8 copperheads, chicken snake, king or chain snake.
C. O. King, Washington, D. C., tarantula.
John Kitterman, Kensington, Md., two common terns.
54 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
B. P. Klibas, Washington, D. C., hawks-bill turtle.
R. F. Knox, Cherrydale, Va., banded rattlesnake.
Sam Kress, Port Limon, Costa Rica, jabiru, collared peccary.
James LaF ontaine, Washington, D. C., great horned owl.
Miss Catherine Larner, Whitehall, N. Y., brown capuchin.
S. E. Laurell, Washington, D. C., patas monkey.
Mrs. F. C. Lincoln, Takoma Park, Md., opossum.
Mrs. John Linder, Washington, D. C., two alligators.
Robert Locke, Washington, D. C., alligator.
Thomas H. Loyd, jr., Washington, D. C., West Indian tree frog.
John L, Lucas, Washington, D. C., kangaroo rat.
John C. Lyddams, Washington, D. C., alligator.
Van Allen Lyman, Washington, D. C., scorpion.
Mrs. J. R. Malloch, Ballston, Va., raccoon.
G. Manos, Washington, D. C., four opossums.
George E. Mattingly, Washington, D. C., pied-billed grebe.
E. A. MelIlhenny, Avery Island, La., 2 anhingas, 4 snowy egrets, 2 Louisiana
herons.
Kenneth Meyers, Takoma Park, Md., common skink.
G. S. Miller, jr., United States National Museum, Washington, D. C., four
Puerto Rican snails.
James Miller, Washington, D. C., mink.
Mrs. Rose L. Miller, Washington, D. C., ferret.
W. W. Minear, Quincy, Ill., 14 blacksnakes, 19 water snakes, 8 garter snakes,
8 banded rattlesnakes, 4 leopard snakes.
Dewey Moore, United States Bureau of Plant Industry, Indio, Calif., 2 giant
hairy scorpions, sidewinder rattlesnake, 2 desert rattlesnakes, California bull-
snake, 8 lizards, 4 scorpions.
Dr. G. K. Noble, American Museum of Natural History, New York City, two
southern ctenosaurs.
Dr. H. C. Oberholser, United States Bureau of Biological Survey, Washing-
ton, D. C., two whistling swans.
William O’Brien, Washington, D. C., double yellow-head parrot.
Dr. S. Logan Owens, Washington, D. C., two yellow-naped parrots.
Mrs. A. N. Pack, Princeton, N. J., raccoon.
J. R. Page, jr., Greensboro, N. C., Florida diamond-back rattlesnake.
Axel Pedersen, Washington, D. C., woodchuck.
S. F. Perkins, Washington, D. C., two king snakes, water snake, blacksnake.
A. L. Pflueger, North Miami, Fla., two diamond-back turtles, four Florida
box turtles.
Philadelphia Zoological Park, Philadelphia, Pa., three soft-shell turtles.
Polly’s Tea Room, Alexandria, Va., two raccoons, skunk, ocelot, collared
peccary, great horned owl, three barred owls, crab-eating macaque, African
gray parrot.
Carlos Quiros, Port Limon, Costa Rica, emperor boa.
Michael Rainey, Washington, D. C., alligator.
Donald Reder, Lorton, Va., mink.
Miss M. EH. Rice, Washington, D. C., woodchuck.
A. G. Richardson, Salem, Mass., two alligators.
Mrs. Riley, Washington, D. C., flicker.
H. H. Rudolph, Washington, D. C., 20 bob-whites,
W. K. Ryan, Washington, D. C., four Fundulus galaris.
San Diego Zoo, San Diego. “alif., four farallone cormorants.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 55
William Sanders, Washington, D. C., yellow-naped parrot.
Dr. J. E. Schillinger, United States Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington,
D. C., two whistling swans.
Mrs. I. D. Schwartz, Washington, D. C., alligator.
Mrs. Shelby, Benning, D. C., two coyotes.
R. D. Shields, Silver Springs, Md., capuchin monkey.
Miss Betty Shorey, Washington, D. C., tarantula.
Eugene Sibley, Chevy Chase, Md., two Peking ducks.
S. G. Sifalla, Washington, D. C., Sumichrast’s deer mouse and young.
Mrs. W. H. Smith, Washington, D. C., canary.
C. C. Sperry, United States Bureau of Biological Survey, Washington, D. C.,
two collared lizards.
R. HE. Stadelman, Tela Serpentarium, Tela, Honduras, white-lipped peccary,
prehensile tailed-porecupine, two coral snakes, six jumping vipers.
B. F. Stepper, Washington, D. C., 2 skinks, blue-tailed skink, 19 fence
lizards, 2 red toads.
H. G. Stewart, Seabrook, Md., spotted salamander.
Hon. Henry L. Stimson, Washington, D. C., great red-crested cockatoo.
Shreve Stombach, red-tailed hawk.
J. Ralph Taylor, Washington, D. C., copperhead snake.
Richard Taylor, Middleburg, Va., horned lizard.
Elaine and South Trimble, Washington, D. C., flying squirrel.
United States Bureau of Biological Survey, Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D. C., laughing gull.
United States Post Office, Dead Letter Section, alligator.
Mrs. Elizabeth Voegele, Martinsburg, W. Va., orange-winged parrot.
Walker Chevrolet Sales Co., Tazewell, Va., two golden eagles.
W. Paul Ward, Fairmont, W. Va., Cooper’s hawk.
Charles Williams, marine turtle.
G. E. Williams, Washington, D. C., red salamander.
Larry Williams, Chevy Chase, Md., spotted salamander.
Miss Mary Wills, Washington, D. C., horned lizard.
G. W. Wilson, Washington, D. C., Florida gallinule.
Paul Winthrop and C. W. Buckley, Washington, D. C., hog-nosed snake,
Maj. Leigh F. Zerbee, United States Army, coral snake, Panama fresh-
water fish.
Donor unknown, two canaries.
Births—There were 41 mammals born, 62 birds hatched, and 45
reptiles hatched or born in the Park during the year. These include
the following:
MAMMALS
Scientific name Common name Number
Epyprymnus rufescens__________-___ RAGKAnNParOOLe soe eee ee 1
ARS Sais ee Pie eS Td dal be. abe ogy Assis deers ie: Di ii4 ie piek 2
LByiSo} abo) {s(0) ode oo ee, So i, 3 Bee ATMETICATN DIS OM tata eee een 1
STATA cul etl Ih flees ea 55 pas na een nen rn a Blaine: wolft: i) Sapna 20s Sis LS ee 3
Ceryuseanadensis..8- 2a. ee Americam elke: £2ss soot ee tee 1
@ervusduvauceliiit 4. NA at Barasing ha deers 2200 _ 1
Cervus claphusesecsetiey. fuati ao. sees Re diideer Bas Nis Pee oe ere 2
Choeropsis liberiensis______.________- Pigmy hippopotamus__________-- 1
IDEN GavrY 73 F001: een ar Syste ee Oe Ree Hallow deers. 326 oui ® wep ie 2
Equus quagga chapmani_____________ Chapman’s"zebrals 52 22 1
Bet SHle Ores so he Sn TE ted en GT mae ars =. ee Sl, Breet ia ge meee 3
56 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Scientific name Common name Number
Myocastor/coypue 24255. ee ee Coy Pilate: 2b a eee ne Ree Ss
Odocoileus*shemionus=2.. 2 2224.22 * Miuletdeories) herein 5) s 2 ae 2
Odocoileus wirginianvs asses so = Virginiaydeenes 22 = Me 2,
Ovis: canadensis. 220200. 2 oe SL. Rocky Mountaimysheep. 22. a et
Oviseuropaeuss) Be Reese ee A (fo yb HG Koy cpr eeenes eae es eR Te Reet 2
Phacochoerus aethiopicus massaicus_-_ East African wart hog_-—-__—-----_- 5
Poecphacusvcrumniensh ese OY 01 cs Sa 5 een, pa pe 1
IRUsaemOlUCcensis esse see eee NMioluccakdeer: = 3 peta ic ee 1
Sikavnippon. S224. 37... taba eee Ee Japanese deers ens. Pane eae 8 5 3
Wrsus/gyas tee see MR eae pe eS ae Alaska Peninsula brown bear___. _ 1
Zalophus califormianwss2222 2252 22255" @alifornia ‘sea lion... —.52.— a 4 1
BIRDS
Anaseplatyrhyarchossee. see ecuee ee Miller cls clic kts eseae ee 5
Branta canadensis subsp_-.---------- Canada goose group---_----_----_- iF
Larus novaehollandiae__-_-___--_--_-- Silver uly 2 ate a ey 22
Nycticorax nycticorax naevius_-----~-- Black-crowned night heron__ __-__- 18
REPTILES
Bothropsilanceolatuss= === Ber=deslanCe 2 aa aa See 15
Crotaphytus collaris...-.=2.2=_1__...- Collared lizard] os 22 22 a2. Sa eeae 6
pieratesiangulifers: 4) 22> Sek Fee Guban- tree: b0a = 22 2. ee 3
Eunectes'murinus: 3. 5! 2p bear ee, SAMA CONGA Sis tee ete = Se eee ee 6
ING ybre Spy 6s Se sta ee hee ES eee oll Water snakec. wo 22 6 pa ee ae 15
Purchases.—The most important purchases during the year were
two Cape hunting dogs, two fine Aldabra tortoises, and a pair of
giant anteaters.
REMOVALS
Causes of death—When it has been thought that determination of
the cause of death of certain animals might be useful, the specimens
have been submitted to the pathological division of the Bureau of
Animal Industry for examination. The following list shows the
results of the autopsies:
MAMMALS
Artiodactyla: Congestion of the lungs, 1.
Primates: Purulent peritonitis, 1; pneumonia, 1.
BIRDS
Columbiformes: Catarrhal enteritis, 1.
The great loss of the year was the death of N’Gi, a 414-year-old
baby gorilla that had been in the Zoo from December 5, 1928, to
March 10, 1932. He became ill with a bad cold, which progressed
into pneumonia complicated with empyema. Dr. D. E. Buckingham,
veterinarian, and his assistant, were called immediately and stayed
with him day and night throughout his illness. Dr. John C. Eck-
hardt, M. D., a great friend of the Zoo, served as a volunteer
consultant.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 57
Through the kind interest and generosity of Mrs. Eleanor Patter-
son, of the Washington Herald, several X-ray pictures were made
and an oxygen chamber with technicians and full equipment was
brought from New York by airplane and N’Gi placed in this in an
effort to save his life. He recovered somewhat, but because of the
empyema a surgical operation was necessary. ‘This was performed
gratuitously by Dr. Charles Stanley White, of Washington, but the
long illness had so weakened the monkey that he died shortly
afterwards.
At the time N’Gi was ill, Jojo, the chimpanzee in the adjoining
cage, also became ill and died. Both deaths were apparently occa-
sioned by the same type of ailment, generally called the flu or grip,
which was prevalent in Washington at that time.
Okero, the mountain gorilla, and his cage mate, Teddy, the chim-
panzee, developed a slight pneumonia, but soon recovered.
ANIMALS IN COLLECTION THAT HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN EXHIBITED
MAMMALS
Scientific name Common name
CACAO Us Call Vill S Sse ae ae CS es White Uakari monkey.
Chinoptesrehiropies= 2a. 2 ae eee Cuxio monkey.
WMP NTA CEUISHSEXCING HUIS ees ee Six-banded armadillo.
GV CAON I ChUSE ess — ee an ee ee ee Cape hunting dog.
Metachinus Luscogniseuse=s es == Allen’s mouse opossum.
INCOM ANS) SLU TTC) SUES yl ee Sumicharast’s deer mouse.
SCIULUSHNUMGI 2S 2" ge en tn eee Tricolored squirrel.
BIRDS
BitansuSsssUl phrase = see ee eee eee __. Kiskadee flycatcher.
SOM OCOLAXAOTY:-ZLVO Le ae ens = ee ee Rice grackle.
SDOrOphilarlineolat 2-2-6 estore. AN se White-crowned seed-eater.
PEST EUINTTS e TT0 Ay OU ee bese ee at Sane oes: Guiana giant tinamou.
REPTILES
AMEeIVARAMelVa gam ClVdee= sa ees South American swift.
PAMTNTUIS MSC yitall Grea = 2s fe ee Bluni-tailed anilius.
ATION SPLEUCOD MAC TIS esse eee ee ee ee Turks Island anolis.
Crocodiluruspacertinus==s2254)5 see Crocodile lizard.
Hepetodnyasycarmatis= aa. 2 oan see Marsh snake.
HrpetodryashfuSCus= a ee ee eee Red and black snake.
Hrythrolamprus aesculapii___________-_______ False coral snake.
telicops angulata_______ witha Bs ee ea. ak South American water snake.
Theiocephalugsin aoe aa ae eS Inagua Island curl-tail lizard.
Me1ocephalUSeS = a5 ene et oe Curl-tail lizard (Andros Island).
WepLopnis-ahaetullass ss ses ee eee Parrot snake.
Teer aFeAo IH HSN TNS ON UY ye ee Blunt-head snake.
IP iub Yoyo haAvey ave kohis ibaa Green tree snake.
Rhrynona sulphureus esses = eee ere nee South American rat snake.
PirynOSOMmaAESOlATe==s= == eee ee Crowned horned lizard.
58 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Scientific name Common name
PGs CaaS eo eee Plicated lizard.
Podoenemissexpansa22- === ek ae ee South American river tortoise.
Poly chnugemarmorabus: 22 = = ee eeeerees Marbled lizard.
Eseudobeasr clochace a5 ee ee Mussurana.
Py thonseurtus® 2.3 Nis pa See eee eee. Blood python.
Spilotesipullatus pullatus === = Tiger snake.
antillacoronato— See so 22 oe eee ee Sa Banded burrowing snake.
‘Restudozelephantina== 2222 es eee Elephant tortoise.
Thecadactylus rapicaudus: = —-=- == eee Gecko.
Xen OdONESCVERUSE 28 os ee ee eee South American puff snake.
AMPHIBIANS
GYTrinophilussporphyLiticisgi ===. ee Purple salamander.
Hvlasseptentrionaligz= 22s ee eek eee West Indian tree frog.
PH AM Ch CHAS Sen ee ile wa Sas ren eee Surinam toad.
FISHES
HMlecrophorus) electricus= = ae ee Electric eel.
TFEPIAOSINGM PAA Ome ee ee ee South American lung fish.
INSECTS
TENODETAFSINENSI Sheth ALE peer Chinese mantis.
MOLLUSKS
Oxystylannd ata. S32 oo eee ee Puerto Rican snail.
Oxystyla, undata qamaicensis==— se eee. Jamaican snail.
Statement of the collection
[Accessions ]
Collected F
Received
by park |presented| Born in Pur- | Onde- | ‘Total
ered: exchange chased posit
Mammuials 225222 io 19 57 5 | eee 32 4 153
BIRdS Sener ase nana ees 105 101 62 1 37 3 309
Reptiles saat ae ee aaa 160 209 45 43 110 3 570
Amphibians 222-2205 se see 33 5 Cee een 1:22) |ctaseeee 158
MM ISHS 5 ep oe he ee ee ere ae ae P| aya cis uae) 1 Zdoveescees 5
‘Arachnids: 222: sats Sit Ree ae yee TOM ease Sa ea ea ee ee ee ee 10
Insectswie ats FL SBT OSe ae ee eee ee Pee ea | [ere ee se ae 3
Crustacesnse see ee ee | ee ee Dif Eee Se Pad ib hi ee aE Ee ee 2
Molisks 225 222 Wa eer ee ee Ba Cate a ce a ata Rea pa a nereee if
Totalig 224-522. 23S eS 317 392 148 45 305 10 1,217
Summary
Animals ion hand duly i We:998t2 Oe eet ee 2, 501
ACCessions: during the? years eS te ee ee eee 1, 217
Total animalswin' collection Gurimy) year === ss eee 8, 718
Removed from collection by death, exchange, and return of animals on
5 ?
GepoSits 2 ee Re et re eee 1, 416
Tn Collection Jue’ SOs LOG ea ah ae re 2, 302
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 59
Status of collection
Species inavigs Species aie
WMianimalst} f2) =! i239 Sse 194 530)|eAwachmids= 222 <2 2223, 3 4
Bird ste as eee fe. weer eee 328 TROSEs Le ruUStacealse. 2.222 =n = 1 3
INGORE ee See eee 157 BAO n PIVIONUSKS eee eae ee 2 27
Amphibians ose -—— ee ae 28 101 —_—__——
Histies eve - eslet ea 15 ay? ROtAN As ese eh as | 728 2, 302
Bi |
Visitors
JIU) ee ope kets 2021007 March 2222" ie Sake ae 174, 585
AICS SS Le SAILS eRe) QAGE 200) WAT ee tonite Se 252, 000
September 22. dice os} 2E2EA005|) Migy na 4: fees eer geek ares: 272, 300
Octobenks sss-2-) Aon eo DAT oO pM Ga = a ee ree 175, 200
November 52s Sas. 161, 900 —_—_——_—_——_-
Decembersn. esate sere 48, 825 Total visitors for
Janay eon = se eee 65, 800 Veans 2 102 Gs os ey 2, 169, 460
Hebruary 20. soe Hit 96, 400
The attendance of organizations, mainly classes of students, of
which we have definite record, was 36,318 from 716 different schools
in 22 States, the District of Columbia, and Cuba, as follows:
Number | Number Number | Number
States of of States of of
persons parties persons | parties
24 Ay || Newry orkis? 13 oo a 3, 482 43
203 45\eNorthi@anoling. os 292 ll
218 ei COs ebro LG SUES O68 eek Bea es 453 16
District of Columbia________- 10, 012 2025), deennsyivaniaes---esss5 52 sae 7, 494 153
Mlorida =! t2s SY Fav astl es _ 3.]| Rhodedsland}__-224 21 97 3
Win gists es ee 65 2) ||pSouth Carolinas 22) =e 31 1
Howat. Sa Sid ADs Sal 188 Di Penmesseo_e lass Fels EES 30 1
UQTT RIC a oe ee ae 65 OF SMATOLm yee ee eee 1, 995 48
Maine 255 oe eit Fie 188 6|| West \Virginia2 052 _2s2 2 bee 214 6
Misrvilon Gian 2. s+ 3 ee te 7, 626 132
MMrassachusettsi2.- 2222225 3 310 Oh @ubattes si sa Lerees Sie 8 14 1
Michigan: 22222. 2258 a 430 8 _
New Hampshire__-._.-...-.-- 55 3 ‘Lotals 235284 “S52. 36, 318 716
INOW Grsey e222 oe ees, 2, 757 50
IMPROVEMENTS
The largest improvement of the year was the construction of
approximately 11,000 feet of chain-link fence to inclose the park,
taking the place of a fence that had been in use for about 31 years.
In connection with the fence installation stone gate pillars and
electric-welded gates were installed, and the street paving at the
various entrances was adjusted in conformity with the new gates.
A series of crane runs were constructed immediately east of the
bird house. The wire used was an aluminum alloy, and the installa-
tion is of an experimental nature to determine if such material will
be satisfactory for this type of inclosure. Adjoining the crane runs
have been built a series of nine pens for pheasants. The wire in this
60 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
case was a small-diameter copper weld, which is also partly in the
nature of an experiment.
The wild-horse group has been accommodated by the construction
of a series of paddocks and shelter houses on filled-in land off the
main road, which now house the zebras, the kiang, and Mongolian
wild horses.
The eagle cage, which had been in course of construction for some
time, was completed early in the spring of 1982, and birds were
immediately placed in it. Artificial rockwork forms an attractive
background, and the cage as a whole is very satisfactory.
A series of outdoor cages for ostriches, rheas, emus, and casso-
waries were begun and nearly completed at the end of the fiscal
year. These are on the new fill back of the bird house, and will
permit a much better exhibition of these large and interesting birds
than has heretofore been possible. The new cages are located with
due respect to the anticipated addition on the south of the bird
house, so that the entire assembly will have a pleasing appearance
when completed.
The Bureau of Standards, Bureau of Agricultural Engineering,
and Bureau ot Public Roads are assisting in determining the best
material for floors for cages, and corrosion-resistant metals for cages
and paddocks.
Heretofore the American waterfowl pond has been provided with
water taken directly from the creek, which made the pool muddy
and insanitary. In addition, the dam which raised the water in
the creek sufficiently to take it into the pond resuited in a large
accumulation of silt, filling the bed of the stream up to the upper
ford in the Zoo, so that the ford could be used only part of the time
by motorists. This combination of circumstances made it advisable
to pipe city water into the duck pond, and the dam has been torn
out of the creek. The water is turned on only during the night.
This has resulted in a clean pool and in improvement of the condi-
tions of the creek bed and the ford.
The Beatrice Henderson cage for birds was rewired and is now
accommodating a colorful exhibit of macaws and cockatoos.
R. Bruce Horsfall, staff artist of Nature Magazine, has con-
tributed to the Zoo two beautiful panoramas which he painted in the
reptile house. One of these shows a Galapagos Island scene with
Indefatigable Island in the distance, and makes a splendid back-
ground for the coliection of tortoises. The other is a Komodo Island
landscape on the wall of the cage now occupied by an assortment of
large lizards. These paintings add greatly to the building’s attrac-
tiveness.
REPORL OF THE SECRETARY 61
NEEDS OF THE ZOO
The older buildings of temporary construction are obsolete and
unsatisfactory. The urgent need of the Zoo is to continue the con-
struction of exhibition buildings similar to the bird house and reptile
house, both of which are entirely satisfactory.
Funds were provided in the last appropriation for plans and
specifications for a building to house small mammals and great apes.
Considerable work has been done on these plans.
The reptile house continues to be the most popular building at the
Zoo, and proves that it is worth while from all points of view to
exhibit animals suitably.
The police force is too small to guard the Government property
for which it is responsible. An adequate force is needed.
Respectfully submitted.
W. M. Mann, Director.
Dr. C. G. Axsor,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
APPENDIX 7
REPORT ON THE ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi-
ties of the Astrophysical Observatory for the fiscal year ended June
30, 1982:
PLANT AND OBJECTS
This observatory operates regularly the central station at Wash-
ington and two field stations for observing solar radiation on Table
Mountain, Calif., and Mount Montezuma, Chile. The station at
Mount Brukkaros, Southwest Africa, which was established by the
National Geographic Society and was continued for a time in co-
operation with the Astrophysical Observatory with funds donated
by a friend of the Institution, was closed in December, 1931.1. The
observatory controls a station on Mount Wilson, Calif., where occa-
sional expeditions are sent for special investigations, one of which
is mentioned below.
The principal aim of the observatory is the exact measurement of,
the intensity of the radiation of the sun as it is at mean solar distance
outside the earth’s atmosphere. This is ordinarily called the solar
constant of radiation, but the observations of past years by this
observatory have proved it variable. As all life, as well as the
weather, depends on solar radiation, the observatory has undertaken
the continued measurement of solar variation on all available days.
These measurements have now continued all the year round for 14
years. As will appear in this report, recent studies indicate that the
permanent continuation of these daily solar-radiation measurements
may have great value for weather forecasting. In addition to this
principal object, the observatory undertakes spectroscopic researches
on radiation and absorption of atmospheric constituents, radiation of
special substances, such as water vapor, ozone, carbonic-acid gas,
liquid water, and others, and the radiation of the other stars as well
as of the sun.
WORK IN WASHINGTON
Volume V of the Annals of the Observatory was printed and dis-
tributed in the autumn of 1931. It rehearses the annals of the work
from 1920 to 1930; describes the stations and instruments employed;
1The yaluable collections of zoological and botanical specimens made in Southwest
Africa by Mrs. L. O. Sordahl, wife of the director, and brought back to Washington with
the instruments, are referred to above in the report of the National Museum.
62
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 63
discusses the sources of error inherent in the use of the bolometer, the
pyranometer, and the pyrheliometer, and their application to solar-
constant determinations. It explains the methods now in use at the
several stations for measuring solar radiation; gives long tables of
pytheliometry and results of bolometry, pyrheliometry, and pyra-
nometry combined in daily determinations of the solar constant.
Finally, it gives a discussion of the results of all stations for the in-
terval 1920-1930. The agreement of the stations, the best results on
the variability of the sun, and the apparent periodicities in solar
variation, and their reflection in weather changes are set forth.
As delegate from the Smithsonian Institution, Doctor Abbot at-
tended the Geographical Congress at Paris and the one hundredth
anniversary meeting of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science, the Faraday celebration, and the Maxwell celebration in
London and Cambridge. He delivered a paper before the British
Association entitled “ Twenty-five Years’ Study of Solar Variation.”
At the conclusion of the meetings he went to Berlin, and with
Doctor Martens at Potsdam he made an accurate comparison between
silver-disk pyrheliometers S. I. 5,;;, carried abroad with him, and
S. I. 12, the property since 1912 of the meteorological observatory at
Potsdam. Apparently no appreciable change of scale in the read-
ings of pyrheliometer S. I. 12 has occurred in the intervening 19
years. This result, confirming the stability of scale of the Smith-
sonian silver-disk pyrheliometers, is very gratifying.
Owing to long-continued illness, Mr. Fowle’s work was practically
confined to the preparation for publication of a new edition of the
Smithsonian Physical Tables.
Messrs. Aldrich and Kramer spent much time on instruments for
pytheliometry. After long-continued efforts to perfect a new form
of secondary pyrheliometer of much promise, the instrument was
laid aside for a time. Following the suggestion of the Russian
physicist, V. M. Shulgin, a new 3-chamber water-flow pyrheliometer
was put in construction. The instrument comprises two pyrheliom-
eters, each nearly like that described in the Annals of the Astro-
physical Observatory, Volume III, page 52. A common current of
distilled water, carefully guarded against temperature changes,
divides into two nearly equal branches to operate the two instru-
ments. Solar heating in the one is compensated by electrical heat-
ing in the other, interchanging the two instruments at intervals of
two minutes. The measurement consists only in adjusting and ob-
serving the required electric current to exactly compensate the solar
heating, so that the two water currents issue at exactly equal tem-
peratures. Equality of their temperatures is indicated by eight
thermoelectric elements connected in series with their junctions alter-
nately immersed in the two issuing water currents.
64 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
This instrument, called water-flow pyrheliometer No. 5, was fin-
ished in May, 1932. Immediately afterwards Messrs. Aldrich and
Kramer constructed a doubly dispersing spectroscope designed to
observe the extreme infra-red solar spectrum between wave lengths
10 and 80 microns. This is the spectral region wherein the earth
emits radiation most strongly. As the sun rays come through the
atmosphere much as the earth rays pass out through it, the instru-
ment was intended to measure accurately the transmission of the
atmosphere to earth rays, a subject fundamental to meteorology.
A large diffraction grating of 25 lines per millimeter was very
kindly ruled for this instrument by Dr. H. D. Babcock, of the Mount
Wilson Observatory, by cooperation of Director W. S. Adams. A
potassium-iodide prism for the second dispersion was kindly loaned
by the University of Michigan. The instrument was completed
about June 1, 1932, and shipped to Mount Wilson, Calif.
Mrs. A. M. Bond and Doctor Abbot did a great deal of work on
the investigation of periodicities in solar and terrestrial phenomena
by the aid of the periodometer, referred to in last year’s report.
Several papers descriptive of this work will be found in Smith-
sonian Miscellaneous Collections, volume 85, No. 1, and volume 87,
Nos. 4 and 9.
FIELD WORK AT MOUNT WILSON
Messrs. Abbot and Aldrich left Washington about June 4, 1932, to
conduct experiments on Mount Wilson. They obtained excellent
comparisons between water-flow pyrheliometer No. 5 and silver-disk
pyrheliometer S. I. 5,;, during June. These results, it is believed,
fix the standard scale of solar radiation to within 0.2 per cent. The
expedition was continued through the summer. Its results will be
described in next year’s report.
FIELD WORK AT MONTEZUMA, CHILE, AND TABLE MOUNTAIN, CALIF.
Daily observations of the solar constant of radiation were con-
tinued at the two permanent field stations. Unfortunately a great
volcanic eruption in southern Chile rendered the atmosphere at
Montezuma very hazy. This has prevented obtaining satisfactory
measurements of the solar constant since April, 1932, and the daily
reports to the United States Weather Bureau and to Science Service
were therefore discontinued.
A. F. MOORE’S EXPEDITION
As stated in last year’s report, Mr. and Mrs. A. F. Moore have
been engaged in testing the availability of certain high mountains
in Africa as solar-constant stations. Their observations at Fogo in
the Cape Verde Islands and on some half dozen peaks in Southwest
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 65
Africa revealed nothing sufficiently favorable. All of these stations
were too much affected by high-lying haze in the atmosphere to be
satisfactory. From Southwest Africa Mr. and Mrs. Moore went to
Mount St. Katherine, in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. With
the good will and much aid from the archbishop and monks of the
monastery near by, Mr. and Mrs. Moore carried on observations for
about 100 days in April, May, June, and July, 1932, at the peak,
whose elevation is about 8,600 feet. The results are the most favor-
able they found anywhere. About half the days are reported as ex-
cellent or satisfactory, the remainder as hazy or cloudy. Inquiries
indicate that the other parts of the year will be still more favorable.
Mr. Moore believes that many of the hazy days might have yielded
good solar-constant values, for the haze changes but slowly, owing
to the extraordinarily calm conditions which prevail on Mount St.
Katherine continually.
PERSONNEL
At Washington, in compliance with the President’s wishes to make
all possible curtailment of expenditures in view of the growing
deficit in the Treasury, the force was reduced by releasing Mrs.
Muriel D. Johnson, computer, after the completion of Volume V of
the Annals. L. O. Sordahl, formerly in charge of the Mount Bruk-
karos station and who had rendered able service in that connection,
was released because of the discontinuance of that observatory as of
June 30, 1932. No other changes occurred at any of the stations.
SUMMARY
Volume V of the Annals of the Observatory, covering work of the
years 1920-1930, has been published. New instruments and results
bearing on standards of pyrheliometry have been completed. Solar-
constant work was discontinued in Southwest Africa, but continued
at the Californian and Chilean stations. The volcanic eruption in
southern Chile led to a temporary suspension of publication of daily
solar-constant values. Much work was done with the periodometer,
a special instrument devised to discover and evaluate periodicities in
long series of observations. Mr. and Mrs. Moore continued an
expedition in Africa to discover a suitable mountain site for a solar-
constant observatory. The most favorable site discovered is Mount
St. Katherine in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.
C. G. Aszor, Director.
The Srcrerary,
Smithsonian Institution.
APPENDIX 8
REPORT ON THE DIVISION OF RADIATION AND
ORGANISMS
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the ac-
tivities of the Division of Radiation and Organisms during its third
year, ending June 30, 1932:
FACILITIES, SUPPORT, AND OPERATIONS
This division occupies as laboratories a large part of the basement
of the original Smithsonian Building, extending from about the
northern line of the towers westward but not including the space
under the chapel. Besides these quarters, it occupies offices in the
north tower from the fifth to the eleventh stories.
The work of the division is supported in part by the income of the
Smithsonian endowment, but largely by annual grants from the Re-
search Corporation of New York, to whom our sincere thanks are due.
Besides this aid, cooperative relations exist with the United States
Department of Agriculture, and through Doctor Meier, a fellow,
with the National Research Council. Several commercial concerns,
including the Corning Glass Works, the Bausch & Lomb Optical
Co., the Westinghouse Electric Co., and the General Electric Co.,
have been very helpful.
The chief emphasis during the past year has been upon actual
experimental work in biophysics. A number of the experiments
which were reported as in progress at the end of 1931 have been
carried to successful completion, with interesting results. Whereas
the first year was largely devoted to building and equipping a labora-
tory in the basement of the Smithsonian Institution and the second
year to the development of special apparatus for the unusual type
of research to be undertaken, the past year has found these under-
takings progressed to such a degree that efficient experimental work
was possible. Initial experiments have been carried out which lay
the foundation for continued investigations which we believe will
prove valuable.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
The carbon dioxide assimilated by wheat has been measured for
light intensities varying from 78 to 1,900 foot-candles and for carbon-
dioxide concentrations varying from 0.004 to 0.500 per cent. The
66
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 67
wheat is grown in an all-vitreous tubular container illuminated
symmetrically from four sides. The wheat is protected by a sheet of
copper-sulphate solution which serves the double purpose of main-
taining the temperature and absorbing the excessive infra-red from
the artificial sources. Carbon-dioxide concentration was measured by
means of a potassium-hydroxide conductivity cell. The chief diffi-
culties in this type of measurement have arisen from the high tem-
perature coefficient and the polarization of the conductivity cell.
These have been overcome, respectively, by improved thermostating
ol 2 .
66, CGRCENTRATION
3 4 5
ASSIMILATION CURVES FOR WHEAT
Ficurp 1.—Assimilation as a function of concentration for light intensities 400 foot-
candles and 950 foot-candles
which holds the solutions to within less than one one-hundredth of
a degree, and the installation of a commutator which reverses the
polarity of the conductivity cell without changing the direction of
the current through the galvanometer. By this method it has been
possible to secure carbon-dioxide measurements which are significant
to the order of one one-thousandth of a per cent. Typical curves of
assimilation as a function of carbon-dioxide concentration are shown
in Figure 1. Each of these curves represents the values for a single
light intensity. For a light intensity of 950 foot-candles photosyn-
thesis is proportional to the concentration of carbon dioxide from 0
to 0.04 per cent. A maximum rate is reached at a concentration of
0.140 per cent. Further increase in concentration up to one-half
per cent produces no further change in assimilation, light intensity
149571—33—_6
68 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
being the limiting factor for this range. At a lower light intensity
of 400 foot-candles departure from linear proportionality to concen-
tration begins at a much lower value, of the order of 0.01 per cent,
maximum being reached at approximately 0.10 per cent, after which
no further change takes place in the range of experiment.
Referring to Figure 2 we see that for a carbon-dioxide concentra-
tion of 0.140 per cent the assimilation is proportional to the light
intensity for the range from 0 to 1,000 foot-candles. On the other
hand, for a concentration of 0.01 per cent a maximum is reached for
he
-03
a 156
-62 |\—
pany o— -036
he Se
re
eyecare
Ct Rx i Ee
en ae
ee ane
gh Bees
10 200 309 400 560 600 700 600 900 1000
LIGHT INTENSITY
ASSIMILATION CURVES FOR WHEAT
Ficure 2.—Assimilation as a function of light intensity for carbon dioxide concentra-
tion 0.010, 0.086, 0.140 per cent
light intensity of 400 foot-candles, after which further increase in
light intensity produces no change, carbon dioxide being the limit-
ing factor. It thus appears that carbon dioxide may be the limiting
factor for sufficiently high light intensities, assimilation varying
proportionally to the carbon-dioxide concentration over a consider-
able range. On the other hand, for sufficiently high carbon-dioxide
concentrations the light intensity may become the limiting factor,
assimilation being proportional to the light intensity. There exist,
however, well-defined regions over which the assimilation is de-
pendent upon both factors. In examining the significance of this
transition range, however, it must be borne in mind that ideal condi-
tions can not be secured. Not all the chloroplasts can be main-
tained in the same radiation density, nor can exactly the same con-
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 69
centration of carbon dioxide be brought in contact with all the sur-
faces of the leaves. Nevertheless, the apparatus has been so designed
as to minimize these difficulties. The fact that the sources of radia-
tion are symmetrically placed on all four sides not only reduces the
fluctuations of intensity as a function of direction, but, owing to the
fact that the leaves are exposed from both sides, reduces to a mini-
mum the variation of intensity through the leaf. A method of recir-
culation reduces the variation of concentration over the plant to
about one-thirtieth part of the difference between the input and the
output concentrations.
In view of these precautions it does not seem likely that the whole
of this transition range can be accounted for by variations in the
environment. It is beyond the scope of this report to enter upon a
more critical and detailed discussion of these points and the wide
literature bearing upon them. A number of considerations are of
particular interest: First, that for an intensity of approximately
one-tenth of maximum sunlight the carbon-dioxide concentration of
air is the limiting factor. As one goes to lower light intensities,
intensity becomes first partially limiting and then wholly limiting,
so far as the actual conditions controlling the growth of higher plants
are concerned. On the other hand, by the extrapolation of the linear
portion of this curve for the range where carbon dioxide is the lim-
iting factor, together with the addition of the value a for the transi-
tion range, one may arrive at the concentration of carbon dioxide
which would be required to give a maximum assimilation for avail-
able light intensity. Assuming for such a noonday intensity 7 xX
our experimental condition of 950 foot-candles one obtains
7X0.069+0.081=0.564 per cent.
Such an increase in available carbon dioxide would yield an
increased assimilation rate amounting at times to tenfold or more.
This experiment has been chiefly conducted by Mr. Hoover. Doc-
tor Johnston has worked with him upon some of the physiological
phases, and Doctor McAlister upon the light-intensity measure-
ments.
PLANT GROWTH
A set of individual plant-growth chambers has been completed
which enables one to make comparative observations upon the ef-
fects of different wave length distributions of light. The four
chambers have been so constructed as to permit of both lateral and
overhead illumination. They are controlled by a central circulating
system which maintains the same temperature and humidity in the
four chambers. Rate of recirculation is maintained constant by
flow meters. The same nutrient solution is used throughout. With
70 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
this complete control of environment one can be assured of the
significance of growth effects arising from modifications in light
conditions alone.
A first experiment has been conducted by Doctor Johnston with
this equipment, which indicates that an excessive intensity in the
less refrangible end of the spectrum, that is, the infra-red and
extreme red, is accountable for much of the abnormal appearance of
plants grown in artificial hght. Further experiments will be con-
ducted which will indicate to what degree the long wave length end
of the spectrum should be excluded. In the present experiment a
portion of the red as well as the infra-red was cut off. Very likely
this will not be necessary.
A set of color filters of unusually great diameter has been ob-
tained through the cooperation of the Corning Glass Works. These
present interesting possibilities for the investigation of the effects
of hight upon plant growth. Figure 3 shows the transmission char-
2 “ae 4 “6 7 128 1.0 1.2 1.4 Lé
FIGURE 3.—Transmission curves of growth chamber filters
acteristics which we have obtained from these filters. In this dia-
gram transmission in per cent is plotted against wave length in
microns. This group offers an opportunity to study the effects of
different portions of the visible light, since the range of wave
lengths which may be supplied to the plants can be varied in con-
venient steps. The effects of photochemical reactions which may
proceed only for wave lengths shorter than some specified value may
be observed from the growth of plants under these various filters.
ALGAE
Dr. Florence Meier, National Research fellow, cooperating with
Doctor McAlister of our laboratory, has conducted an interesting set
of experiments on the lethal effects of the ultra-violet upon unicel-
lular algae. This work has been made possible through the com-
pletion of a special combined spectrometer and self-recording mono-
chromator. The instrument is of unusually great aperture as well
as dispersive power. Two fused quartz prisms some 15 cm high,
yield a large spread of the spectrum, which makes it possible to work
with the relatively large slit widths required by the necessarily
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 71
coarse-structured biological plates which are prepared by forming
a surface inoculation of algae upon agar. A special plate holder
has been constructed which can be thoroughly sterilized in an auto-
clave, and which completely surrounds the algal plate even during
exposure, thus insuring freedom from contamination. A thermo-
couple is driven across the spectrum and automatically records the
2500 2600 2700 2806 2900 3000 3100
Ficurn 4.—Mercury are spectrograms: A, direct thermocouple record; B, microphotometer
record of photograph; C, microphotometer record of algal plate
intensities of the lines under the same conditions as those to which
the algae have been exposed. The algal plates are then photographed
and a densitometer record made just as one would with an orem eny
photographic spectrum.
Figure 4 shows, first, the direct thermocouple record obtained au-
tomatically, curve A; second, the microphotometric record of a photo-
eraphic spectrogram of the same general region, curve B; and third,
such a microphotometric record of the algal plate, curve C.
(2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
PHOTOTROPISM
Phototropic investigations previously reported have been carried
further into the blue end of the spectrum. It has been found that
a maximum is reached at 4,500 A., the phototropic response drop-
ping off rapidly then as one proceeds to 4,000 A. The results of the
investigation at this stage were reported by Doctor Johnston to
the American Society of Plant Physiologists at New Orleans in De-
cember of this year. Later experiments have indicated that de-
partures from a simple curve, rising to a maximum and falling off
again, are present. Further research is being carried on in order
to determine whether fine structure may be present which would
have an interesting bearing upon the theory of phototropism.
ULTRA-VIOLET
Ultra-violet measurements of the mercury are with the double
monochromator previously reported have been carried to the point
where absolute intensities can be determined with reasonable cer-
tainty. The results of this investigation are in the process of pub-
lication by Doctor McAlister.
COOPERATION
Cooperative work with the Department of Agriculture has been
greatly advanced by the appointment to their staff in the Bureau
of Plant Industry, under Dr. Walter T. Swingle, of Dr. Lauriston
C. Marshall. Doctor Marshall is working closely with this division
upon their problems in determining the effects of radiation upon non-
competitive crop plants. Doctor Marshall is a physicist with special
qualifications in the fields of photoelectricity and electrical conduc-
tivity through gases. The division has profited greatly by his asso-
ciation, as his experience supplements that of the physicists of the
division, whose line of work has been chiefly in spectroscopic fields.
Continued cooperation with the Fixed Nitrogen Research Labora-
tory has made possible convenient exchange of facilities. Arrange-
ments have been made with the Westinghouse Laboratories for the
exchange of thermocouples and photocells, which will greatly facili-
tate our ultra-violet work.
Respectfully submitted. ;
¥. S. Bracxert, Chief
Dr. C. G. Axnzor,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
APPENDIX 9
REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF
SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera-
tions of the United States Regional Bureau of the International
Catalogue of Scientific Literature for the fiscal year ending June 30,
1982:
In addition to the regular routine work of the bureau, direct cor-
respondence with the former regional bureaus has been carried on in
an attempt to resume the actual publication of this unique reference
catalogue, whose absence is keenly felt alike by students of science
and librarians. To this end the Secretary of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution addressed the following letter to 30 of the various bodies
formerly cooperating in the work:
JANUARY 15, 1932.
Dear Sir: Since publication of the International Catalogue of Scientific
Literature was discontinued, its need both to students of science and libraries
has become ever more pressing, and the Smithsonian Institution desires to do
everything possible to promote reorganization of the enterprise. I am writing
to ask whether your institution will again cooperate in the work by supplying
classified references to the current scientific literature of your region if a suffi-
cient capital fund can be provided to reestablish and finance the central bureau.
1f publication is to be resumed, aid from the regional bureaus formerly co-
operating is essential to success; therefore I trust that your reply will be
favorable, as it is obvious that the value of the work will depend on all regions
being suitably represented.
I am inclosing with this a brief outline of the proposed organization plans,
together with copies of three annual reports of this bureau containing matter
relating to same subject.
Very truly yours,
(Signed) C. G. ABBot, Secretary.
PROPOSED REORGANIZATION OF THH INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUB OF SCIENTIFIC
LITERATURE
In 1922 the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature in convention at
Brussels directed its executive committee to submit a plan for reorganization
when international conditions had sufficiently improved. Since then, however,
international political and financial conditions have been such that no reorgani-
zation plan has been forthcoming. The need for the catalogue is to-day greater
than when publication ceased and nothing has appeared to take its place.
The organization, consisting of some 34 regional bureaus, cooperating through
the Central Bureau in London, supplied classified-index references for the ecata-
logue, and this method appears to have been ideal in accomplishing this the
73
74 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
most difficult phase of the work. Moved by the fixed desire to see this great
work resumed, the Smithsonian Institution is now addressing the bodies for-
merly cooperating requesting assurances of renewed aid by supplying classified
indexes to the scientific literature of their respective regions. The Institution
has figures showing that a catalogue consisting of 10,000 pages, divided into 17
annual volumes, can be published to sell at a cost of $50 per year, provided
1,000 subscriptions can be had.
The situation is now far simpler than it was when the organization was
founded in 1900, for then no precedent existed for such an international co-
operative enterprise. Now the successful publication of 238 volumes aggregat-
ing some 140,000 pages of the International Catalogue is substantial and con-
vincing proof that the original plan was feasible. War and disorganized
international conditions alone were responsible for the necessity of suspending
publication. Faults existed, but faults mainly brought about by lack of capital
and a somewhat slow and expensive method of printing through private con-
cerns. It is now proposed to remedy these defects through the ownership of a
specially designed and equipped plant to print only the International Catalogue.
By this means it is believed that the catalogue can be printed for approxi-
mately one-half the original cost and the two main defects formerly existing—
high prices and delayed publication—be remedied.
It is apparent that in the proposed reorganization it is first necessary to obtain
assurance from regional bureaus that the aid formerly given can be depended
on again to supply classified references, as in this cooperation lay the outstand-
ing and unique value of the whole project.
When such assurance is received the next step will be to solicit subscriptions
to determine whether editions of 1,000 sets of 17 annual volumes can be sold
in order to reduce the price to $50 per set.
With these essential requirements satisfactorily met and a concise plan of
operations agreed to, it is hoped and expected that the necessary capital to
resume publication, estimated at $75,000, can be obtained.
Operating details may well be based on the records and regulations of the
organization as formerly carried out by the London Central Bureau.
Responses to these communications have been most gratifying and
encouraging, as 16 of the 18 replies received from organizations
addressed have agreed to cooperate again on the terms outlined.
Yor various reasons, owing to social and political changes resulting
from the war, successful contacts have not been made in a number of
regions; but it is believed that when a definite plan has been agreed
to among the bodies already cooperating, all regional gaps can be
filled, as the importance of the work is so well recognized that no
country or region could afford to be omitted.
Respectfully submitted.
Lronarp C. GUNNELL,
Assistant in Charge.
Dr. Cartes G. Apgor,
Secretary, Smithsonion Institution.
APPENDIX 10
REPORT ON THE LIBRARY
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi-
ties of the Smithsonian library ior the fiscal year ended June 30, 1932:
THE LIBRARY
The lbrary of the Smithsonian Institution is really a library sys-
tem, for it comprises 45 distinct lbraries, namely, the Smithsonian
deposit in the Library of Congress, office library, Langley aeronauti-
cal library, radiation and organisms lbrary, the libraries of the
United States National Museum, Bureau of American Ethnology,
Astrophysical Observatory, National Gallery of Art, Freer Gallery
of Art, National Zoological Park, and the 35 sectional libraries of
the National Museum, which are the daily tools of the curators and
their assistants. The system contains somewhat more than 800,000
volumes, pamphlets, and charts, as well as many thousands of items
still uncatalogued or awaiting completion.
THE STAFF
At the close of the calendar year Miss Kate Gallaher, under
library assistant, after more than 50 years of faithful Government
service, most of it in the Smithsonian lbrary, was retired, and her
place was filled by the promotion of Miss Virginia C. Whitney,
minor library assistant. ‘To the vacancy thus occasioned was ap-
pointed Bruce Middleton, a graduate of the University of Rochester,
who had had several years of library and clerical experience in the
Rochester public library and the United States Census Bureau. The
services of Mrs. Grace A. Parler, in the library of the Freer Gallery
of Art, were continued. The other temporary employees were Mrs.
Daisy Cadle, Miss Frances Finch, Miss Alice Elizabeth Hill, Miss
Margaret Link, and Miss Jennette Seiler.
EXCHANGE OF PUBLICATIONS
In the course of the last year the library received 24,651 packages
of one or more publications each, most of them exchanges. Espe-
cially large sendings came from the Audubon Association of the
Pacific, San Francisco; Gesellschaft fiir Erdkunde, Leipzig; Hiro-
shima University, Hiroshima; Institut d’Estudis Catalans, Barce-
lona; Landesmuseums-verein fiir Vorarlberg, Bregenz; Lingnan
75
76 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
University, Canton; Magyar Aero Szovetseg, Budapest; Royal
Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, London;
R. Universita, Pavia; and Saalburgmuseum, Homburg vor der
Hohe. Among the publications received were 5,340 dissertations,
chiefly from foreign universities and technical schools.
The correspondence of the library, involving 2,886 letters, or 1,028
more than the previous year, had to do largely, as usual, with the
exchange of publications. The number of items obtained to meet
special needs in various libraries of the Institution was 4,133, or 543
more than in 1931, the greatest increase being shown, in those
received for the library of the National Museum, where a special
effort was made to check the standard sets.
GIFTS
Three gifts were outstanding—namely, a set, in 45 volumes, of
the Phra Tripitaka, recently translated from the Bali into Siamese
by the Mahamongkut Academy, from His Majesty the King of
Siam in honor of His Majesty the late King Phra Mongkut Klao
and for the encouragement of orientalists in their studies of the
eastern classics; a set, in 3 volumes, of the translation into Siamese
of the Paramatthamanjusa Visuddhi Maggatika (Commentaries on
the Visuddhi-Magga), from His Excellency Chao Phya Abbai Raja;
and a copy of Cristoforo Colombo—Documenti & prove della sua ap-
partenenza a Genova, presented by His Excellency Dino Grandi
during his recent visit to Washington as Royal Italian Minister of
Foreign Affairs. Two other very important gifts were a copy, in 3
volumes, of Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization, edited by Sir
John Marshall, from the editor, and one of volumes 19 and 20, with
portfolios of plates, of The North American Indian, by Edward 8.
Curtis, from Mrs. EK. H. Harriman—to complete the Smithsonian set
of this superb work. Still other gifts included the following: Birds
of Tropical West Africa, volume 2, by David Armitage Bannerman,
from the Crown Agents for the Colonies; The Crosses and Culture
of Ireland, by A. Kingsley Porter, from the Metropolitan Museum
of Art; Faraday and His Metallurgical Researches, by Sir Robert
A. Hadfield, from Maj. Gen. George O. Squier; Illustrated Cata-
logues of the Gustave Dreyfus Collection (Reliefs and Plaquettes,
Medals, Bronzes), 3 volumes, from Sir Joseph Duveen; Illustra-
tions of Japanese Aquatic Plants and Animals, 2 volumes, by the
Fisheries Society of Japan, from the society; An Introduction to the
Literature of Vertebrate Zoology, edited by Casey A. Wood, from the
Blacker Library of Zodlogy, McGill University; Les Oiseaux de
V’Indochine Frangaise, by J. Delacour and P. Jabouille, from J. Dela-
cour; and Problems in Modern Physics, by H. A. Lorentz, from
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY #4
Robert A. Millikan. The largest miscellaneous gifts were 31 publi-
cations from Miss Margaret Miller, 37 from Dr. Adam G. Béving,
58 from the American Association of Museums, 70 from Mrs. Jean
L. G. Ferris, 144 from the Library of Congress, 454 from Hamilton
College, 615 from William Perry Hay, and 650 from the American
Association for the Advancement of Science. Several hundred also
came, as usual, from Mrs. Charles D. Walcott.
The members and associates of the Institution who gave publica-
tions to the library were as follows: Secretary Abbot, Assistant Sec-
retary Wetmore, Dr. R. 8. Bassler, Dr. Marcus Benjamin, A. N.
Caudell, A. H. Clark, W. L. Corbin, Dr. Herbert Friedmann, Miss
Kate Gallaher, A. H. Howell, Dr. Ale’ Hrdli¢ka, Neil M. Judd, Dr.
W. R. Maxon, G. S. Miller, jr., C. W. Mitman, A. J. Olmsted,
W. de C. Ravenel, J. H. Riley, and Dr. William Schaus. From the
late Dr. Charles W. Richmond also were received 100 or more vol-
umes and pamphlets, not a few of which were rare works on natural
history.
THE SMITHSONIAN DEPOSIT
The Smithsonian deposit in the Library of Congress is the largest
and most important member of the Smithsonian library system; it
consists chiefly of the reports, transactions, and proceedings of
learned societies and institutions, and of scientific and technical
monographs and journals. The collection numbers considerably more
than 500,000 volumes, pamphlets, and charts. It is shelved mainly
in the Smithsonian and periodical divisions. During the year just
closed the Institution added to the deposit 2,872 volumes, 11,712 parts
of volumes, 2,883 pamphlets, and 180 charts—a total of 17,647 pub-
lications. These included 3,436 dissertations. They also included
2,445 publications which the Smithsonian library obtained by ex-
change in response to special requests from the Smithsonian, peri-
odical, and order divisions of the Library of Congress. Several
thousand documents of foreign governments were sent to the docu-
ments division of the Library.
NATIONAL MUSEUM LIBRARY
The library of the United States National Museum is one of the
principal units in the Smithsonian library system. In its 2 major
and 85 minor collections—chiefly on natural history and technol-
ogy—there are 82,144 volumes and 109,962 pamphlets. The year just
closed was one of unusual accomplishment. The accessions were
2,737 volumes and 833 pamphlets, a gain of 210 over the previous
year. The number of periodicals entered was 9,025, or 226 more than
in 1931. The cataloguing and recataloguing covered 2,236 volumes,
1,006 pamphlets, and 17 charts—an increase of 818 over the year
78 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
before. The number of cards added to the catalogue was 12,055, or
862 more than in 1931; the number added to the Museum shelf lists,
1,244; and the number prepared for the union shelf list in the Smith-
sonian Building, 1,741. The items sent to the 35 sectional lbraries
numbered 5,726 volumes and parts. The number of volumes sent to
the bindery was 1,480. The Smithsonian library obtained in ex-
change for the Museum 1,377 volumes and parts that were lacking
in its sets, 287 more than in 1931. The loans during the year to the
staff of the Smithsonian Institution and its branches totaled 9,096
publications, or 1,875 more than in 1931. Two-thirds of these were
made at the loan desk in the Natural History Building and one-
third at the recently established loan desk in the Arts and Industries
Building. The number of publications borrowed from the Library
of Congress was 2,662, and elsewhere 477; the number sent back
to the Library of Congress was 2,800, and to other libraries 582.
These figures show a considerable increase over those for 19381.
Loans were made to many libraries in Washington and to some out-
side. The questions answered by the reference assistants were even
more numerous and difficult than usual, some involving a great deal
of research. Most came from the scientific staff and the public in
general, but many from visiting scientists from various parts of
the country. Increased attention was given by the catalogue division
to the analysis of standard sets, with a view to making the catalogue
as complete a key as possible to these publications.
The sectional libraries were somewhat changed during the year.
Those of mechanical technology and mineral technology became that
of engineering, those of American archeology and Old World arche-
ology that of archeology, and a sectional library of agricultural his-
tory was begun. These libraries, now 35 in number, are as follows:
Administration. Invertebrate paleontology.
Administrative assistant’s office. Mammals.
Agricultural history. Marine invertebrates.
Anthropology. Medicine.
Archeology. Minerals.
Biology. Mollusks.
Birds. Organic chemistry.
Botany. Paleobotany.
Echinoderms. Photography.
Hditor’s office. Physical anthropology.
Engineering. Property clerk’s office.
Ethnology. Reptiles and batrachians.
Fishes. Superintendent’s office.
Foods. Taxidermy.
Geology. Textiles.
Graphic arts. Vertebrate paleontology.
History. Wood technology.
Insects,
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 79
OFFICE LIBRARY
The office library consists mainly of books of reference and sets
of the publications of the Institution and its bureaus and of other
learned institutions and societies. It also contains a collection of
general literature, including files of semipopular magazines. To
this library were added during the last year 182 volumes and 47
pamphlets. The assistants in charge entered 2,889 periodicals, pre-
pared 477 cards for the catalogue, filed 1,938 shelf-list and cata-
logue cards, and loaned 3,070 publications. Besides members of the
staff, there were 644 visitors, many of whom came for information
about the activities and collections of the Institution.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY LIBRARY
The library of the Bureau of American Ethnology is made up
largely of works on the archeology, history, customs, languages, and
general culture of the early American peoples, notably the North
American Indian. The library has 30,071 volumes and 16,867
pamphlets, together with thousands of unbound periodicals and
numerous photographs, manuscripts, and Indian vocabularies. The
additions during the year were 400 volumes and 150 pamphlets. The
number of periodicals entered was 3,400; of cards prepared for the
catalogue, 5,004; of volumes bound, 200; and of loans made, 2,156.
The reference service of the library was unusually large, both to
Smithsonian scientists and to students and others outside the Insti-
tution.
ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY LIBRARY
The library of the Astrophysical Observatory is a working collec-
tion of 4.357 volumes and 3,467 pamphlets, chiefly on astrophysics
and meteorology. The accessions for the year were 169 volumes and
275 pamphlets. The number of periodicals entered was 951, and of
publications obtained in exchange by special request 84. The loans
were 106.
RADIATION AND ORGANISMS LIBRARY
The library of radiation and organisms, begun in 1929, was in-
creased during the year by 96 volumes. Among these was almost a
complete set of Science, which was made up largely from duplicates
already in the possession of the Institution. The number of publi-
cations received in exchange in response to special requests was 48.
The periodicals entered were 658. The library now has 190 volumes,
9 pamphlets, and 6 charts.
LANGLEY AERONAUTICAL LIBRARY
The Langley aeronautical hbrary, which for the most part has
been on deposit since 1930, under its own name and bookplate, in
80 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
the aeronautical division of the Library of Congress, was collected
chiefly by Secretary Langley of the Smithsonian while he was carry-
ing on his well-known experiments and researches in aeronautics.
Some of the more important items were once the property of other
aeronautical pioneers, especially Alexander Graham Bell, Octave
Chanute, and James Means. The collection has files of the early
aeronautical magazines and many photographs, letters, and news-
paper clippings. It numbers 1,908 volumes and 1,086 pamphlets.
The library was increased during the year by 52 volumes, 623 parts
of volumes, and 30 pamphlets.
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART LIBRARY
The library of the National Gallery of Art is a carefully selected
collection of 1,334 volumes and 1,416 pamphlets, mainly on American
and European art. In 1932 it was increased by 91 volumes and 84
pamphlets. Among the accessions were Enciclopedia Italana,
Volumes I-XIII; Die Propylien-kunstgeschichte, Volumes I-XV;
and Life Portraits of George Washington, by John Hili Morgan and
Mantle Fielding. The periodicals entered were 387. As usual, most
of the routine work was done by the general library staff.
FREER GALLERY OF ART LIBRARY
The library of the Freer Gallery of Art consists chiefly of publi-
cations on the arts and cultures of the Far East, India, Persia, and
the nearer East. Many of these, some of which are very rare, are
not to be found elsewhere in Washington. The collection also has
numerous works on some of the American painters, notably James
McNeill Whistler, and on the famous Washington manuscripts of
the Bible. The additions to the main collection during 1932 were
254 volumes and 163 pamphlets. At the close of the year it num-
bered 4,677 volumes and 3,311 pamphlets, while the special collection
used by the field staff in connection with the gallery’s archeological
work contained approximately 800 volumes and 500 pamphlets. The
number of volumes bound was 21. The work of reclassifying and
recataloguing the library was completed, except for various publi-
cations in Japanese and Chinese. The catalogue and shelf list were
increased by 3,507 cards, and 2,666 cards were prepared for filing in
the union catalogue at the Smithsonian Institution.
NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK LIBRARY
The Lbrary of the National Zoological Park numbers 1,221 vol-
umes and 410 pamphlets; the additions in 1932 were 4 volumes and
3 pamphlets.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 81
SUMMARY OF ACCESSIONS
The accessions for the year may be summarized as follows:
Pam-
Library Volumes} philets Total
and charts
Astrophys Gal Observatory ese ee ee Ee ee ee 169 275 444
Bureau of American Ethnology 400 150 550
BreerGallony ofp thee) se en 254 163 417
Langley aeronautical -- 52 30 82
National Gallery of Art 91 84 175
National Zoological Park- 4 3 7
Radiation and Organisms 96 0 96
SHiilghsomlansGeposits library.of COngressse-.o) 229 ene een see eee 2, 872 3, 063 5, 935
SimiGhsomiali oli ces seeses eo te ok he ea ee eee 132 47 179
UmitedistatesmNational Wrusetinae team tec eu Sehr DAE oe ee PAY BYE 833 3, 570
UMA EY bes we She a ep Ig he Sel og le ed eg ne pce ee ee Nd 6, 807 4, 648 11, 455
On June 30, 1932, the Smithsonian library system contained ap-
proximately the following:
iVolumes= = = = St Se eee ieee PERE RE DE PRR NE 584, 864
Pamphlets______ Epes hain Ti pete oes Obtain pe cue Spent Poy. Binney ch eo metas 196, 945
CORRE GIS aE te IS I PI Te al ag IS Rd lA Lt DURE ANA PESTA ALE 26, 526
OF Moy aye Nb pase laa, eG a ape ee ae ag ee ee 808, 33
The system also had many thousands of volumes still uncata-
logued or incomplete.
UNION CATALOGUE
In addition to cataloguing the current items as they came in, the
staff made considerable progress in recataloguing the botanical col-
lection of the National Museum, and almost finished the reclassify-
ing and recataloguing of the library of the Freer Gallery of Art.
The following statistics will show the work on the union catalogue
and shelf list:
VOLUMES CALAN OSU Cd a ae eke a ee oe ee cS AEE _ 4,922
AVO le SH MCCA Gel OC TOC aces a eae soars nee ale aR a ete ee eee ee 13
Rampilets*catalosuede 32 -CAUeases iby sls SUE EEE, EEG TAL AR Sh Sed PLAT 333:
Pamphlets, reCatal OLS ee Ss ee ae Ngee Se Ras 3
OHTA ES RGA Gal O Sere letter eee pe ee Cee ee es ie Be 197
ypedveands added: toscatalocue sand shelt liste) eee eee 9, 848
Library of Congress cards added to catalogue and shelf list____________ 13, 208
Museumpeardsicopied) for union shelilistie) 1s ee be Tes 1, 741
Freer cards prepared for union catalogue and shelf list, to be added
ISAT @ Tee eer AL yal a ae Le De ey eet me 2s Se Ba itn be 2, 666
SPECIAL ACTIVITIES
Still further progress was made during the year in putting the
scientific duplicates in the west stacks in order. The shelves of the
botanical library were completely rearranged. About 50 sacks of
the publications of the Institution and its branches, which had been
82 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
returned as duplicates from various libraries throughout the
country, were opened and their items examined and grouped. Asa
result, thousands of publications were sent back to stock for redis-
tribution, and nearly 250 that were out of print were found for the
sets that the library system has been trying for many years to
complete. Duplicates were exchanged with several institutions, and
many publications not needed by the Smithsonian or its bureaus
were turned over to other Government libraries.
The librarian lectured several times in Washington and Balti-
more on Washington the Man of Books and Patron of American
Letters. In the course of his remarks he called attention to two
matters of especial interest to the Smithsonian Institution. One
was the gift of a set of Histoire Generale des Voyages, in 20 volumes,
from the Marquis de Rochambeau to Washington, which on its way
to the United States was captured on the high seas by a British
cruiser and taken to England. It was later found in a London book
shop by Prof. George Brown Goode, then Assistant Secretary of
the Institution, brought to America, and presented to Mount
Vernon, where it now reposes in Washington’s library. The other
was a letter that Washington wrote to Jonathan Edwards on August
28, 1788, thanking him for a copy of his recent book entitled
“Observations on the Language of the Muhhekaneew Indians.”
In this letter Washington said: “ I have long regretted that so many
Tribes of the American Aborigines should have become almost or
entirely extinct, without leaving such vestiges, as that the genius
and idiom of their language might be traced. Perhaps, from such
sources, the descent or kindred of nations, whose origins are lost in
remote antiquity or illiterate darkness, might be more rationally
investigated, than in any other mode.” Thus the many-sided Wash-
ington showed himself one of the first men in our country to realize
the great importance of the preservation and study of the languages
of the North American Indians as a means of tracing the history
of these early people.
IMPORTANT BEGINNINGS
Toward the close of the year a beginning was made in reorganiz-
ing the order division of the library with a view to developing a
more modern and efficient procedure and one more closely related to
that in the other divisions. Plans were also worked out for making
a file of the library’s exchange relations, to the end of having imme-
diately at hand for the use of the periodical division, especially the
correspondence section, full data pertaining to the library’s ex-
changes and of facilitating the more frequent revision of its
exchange lists in keeping with the needs of stricter economy. And,
perhaps most important of all, arrangements were completed for
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 83
preparing an index to the publications of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion, National Museum, Astrophysical Observatory, and Bureau of
American Ethnology. This will be a dictionary index and will at
first be on Library of Congress cards. Cards for all the publications,
except volumes 1 to 36 of the Proceedings of the National Museum,
are already available, and the Smithsonian library staff will soon
set about supplying manuscript to the Library of Congress for the
printing of cards for these volumes. It is hoped that if some day
the Institution is in position to publish the index, the material for
it will be ready. The need for such an index is, of course, apparent
to everyone.
Respectfully submitted.
Wiiz1am LL, Corsi, Lebrarzan.
Dr. Cuartes G. ABsort,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
149571—33——7
APPENDIX 11
REPORT ON PUBLICATIONS
Sir: I have the honor to submit the following report on the
publications of the Smithsonian Institution and the Government
bureaus under its administrative charge during the year ending
June 30, 1932:
As announced last year, the three editorial offices formerly existing
under the Institution have been consolidated into one central office
under the general direction of the editor of the Smithsonian. This
arrangement has proved to be very satisfactory; it has produced a
more uniform style and greater accuracy in the different series pub-
lished by the Institution, has speeded up the appearance of the
publications, and has centralized the business operations connected
with the Institution’s editorial work.
PUBLICATIONS ISSUED DURING THE YEAR
The Institution proper published during the year 17 papers in the
series of Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1 annual report and
pamphlet copies of the 29 articles contained in the report appendix,
Volume V of the Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory, and 3
special publications. The United States National Museum issued 1
annual report, 2 volumes of proceedings, 5 complete bulletins, 3 parts
of bulletins, 1 paper in the series Contributions from the National
Herbarium, and 53 separates from the proceedings. The Bureau of
American Ethnology published 7 bulletins.
The total number of publications distributed was 228,045 copies,
which included 118 volumes and separates of the Smithsonian Contri-
butions to Knowledge, 44,057 volumes and separates of the Smithson-
ian Miscellaneous Collections, 30,560 volumes and separates of the
Smithsonian Annual Reports, 6,061 Smithsonian special publica-
tions, 101,975 volumes and separates of the various series of the
National Museum publications, 22,867 publications of the Bureau of
American Ethnology, 49 publications of the National Gallery of
Art, 70 publications of the Freer Gallery of Art, 1,041 volumes of the
Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory, 50 reports of the Harri-
man Alaska Expedition, and 699 reports of the American Historical
Association.
84
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 85
SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS
Of the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, volume 82, 1 paper
and title-page and table of contents were issued; volume 85, 8 papers
and addendum to number 4; volume 86, whole volume; and volume
87, 7 papers, making 17 papers in all, as follows:
VOLUME 82
No. 11. Recently dated Pueblo ruins in Arizona, by Emil W. Haury and
Lyndon L. Hargrave. 120 pp., 27 pls., 35 text figs. (Publ. 3069.) August
18, 1931.
Title-page and table of contents. (Publ. 3132.)
VOLUME 85
No. 4. Mexican mosses collected by Brother Arsene Brouard—III, by I. Thé
riot. 44 p., 22 text figs. (Publ. 3122.) August 25, 1931.
Addendum. Index to papers by I. Thériot on Mexican mosses collected by
Brother Arséne Brouard published by the Smithsonian Institution.
No. 5. Infra-red absorption bands of hydrogen cyanide in gas and liquid, by
F. S. Brackett and Urner Liddel. 8 pp., 5 figs. (Publ. 3128.) August 5, 1931.
No. 6. Morphology of the insect abdomen. Part I. General structure of the
abdomen and its appendages, by R. E. Snodgrass. 128 pp., 46 text figs. (Publ.
3124.) November 6, 19381.
No. 7. Effectiveness in nature of the so-called protective adaptations in the
animal kingdom, chiefly as illustrated by the feod habits of Nearctie birds,
by W. L. McAtee. 201 pp. (Publ. 3125.) March 15, 1982.
No. 8. Modern square grounds of the Creek Indians, by John R. Swanton.
46 pp., 5 pls., 15 text figs. (Publ. 3126.) November 11, 1931.
No. 9. The determination of ozone by spectrobolometriec Measurements, by
Oliver R. Wulf. 12 pp., 3 pls., 5 text figs. (Publ. 3127.) November 30, 1931.
No. 10. Human hair and primate patterning, by Gerrit S. Miller, jr. 13 pp.,
5 pls. (Publ. 3180.) December 19, 1931.
No. 11. Supplementary notes on body radiation, by L. B. Aldrich. 12 pp., 5
text figs. (Publ. 3133.) February 2, 19382.
VOLUME 86
(Whole volume.) Smithsonian Meteorological Tables. Fifth revised edition.
282 pp., 1 text fig. (Publ. 3116.) January 11, 1931.
VOLUME 87
No. 1. The botanical collections of William Lobb in Colombia, by Ellsworth
P. Killip. 18 pp. (Publ. 31383.) February 4, 1932.
No. 2. A Miocene long-beaked porpoise from California, by Remington Kel-
logg. 11 pp.,4 pls. (Publ. 3135.) January 22, 1932.
No. 3. Seth Eastman: The master painter of the North American Indian, by
David I. Bushnell, jr. 18 pp., 15 pls., 1 text fig. (Publ. 3136.) April 11, 1932.
No. 4. The periodometer: An instrument for finding and evaluating periodici-
ties in long series of observations, by C. G. Abbot. 6 pp.,1 pl., 1 text fig. (Publ.
3138.) February 6, 1932.
No. 5. The narrative of a southern Cheyenne woman, by Truman Michelson.
13 pp. (Publ. 3140.) March 21, 1932.
86 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
No. 6. Composition of the Caddoan linguistic stock, by Alexander Lesser and
Gene Weltfish. 15 pp. (Publ. 3141.) May 14, 1932.
No. 8. Graphie correlation of radiation and biological data, by F. S. Brackett.
Tpp. (Publ. 3170.) May 17, 1982.
No. 9. Pericdicity in solar variation, by ©. G. Abbot and Gladys T. Bond.
14 pp., 2 pls., 8 text figs. (Publ. 3172.) May 24, 1932.
SMITHSONIAN ANNUAL REPORT
Report for 1930.—The complete volume of the Annual Report of
the Board of Regents for 1930 was received from the Public Printer
in December, 1931.
Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution show-
ing the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution for the year
ending June 30, 19380. xii+650 pp., 191 pls., 57 text figs. (Publ. 3077.)
The appendix contained the following papers:
Beyond the red in the spectrum, by H. D. Babcock.
Growth in our knowledge of the sun, by Charles H. St. John.
The modern sun cult, by J. W. Sturmer.
The moon and radioactivity, by V. 8S. Forbes.
Modern concepts in physics and their relation to chemistry, by Irving
angmuir.
Waves and corpuscles in modern physics, by Louis de Broglie.
New researches on the effect of light waves on the growth of plants, by F. 8.
Brackett and Harl S. Johnston.
The Autogiro: Its characteristics and accomplishments, by Harold F’. Pitcairn.
Ten years’ gliding and soaring in Germany, by Prof. Dr. Walter Georgii.
The first rains and their geological significance, by Assar Hadding.
Weather and glaciation, by Chester A. Reeds.
Wild life protection: An urgent problem, by Ernest P. Walker.
The nesting habits of Wagler’s Oropendola on Barro Colorado Island, by
Frank M. Chapman.
The rise of applied entomology in the United States, by L. O. Howard.
Man and insects, by L. O. Howard.
The use of fish poisons in South America, by Elsworth P. Killip and Albert C.
Smith.
A rare parasitic food plant of the Southwest, by Frank A. Thackery and
M. French Gilman.
The mechanisin of organic evolution, by Charles B. Davenport.
Extra chromosomes, a source of variations in the Jimson Weed, by Albert F.
Blakeslee.
The age of the human race in the light of geology, by Stephen Richarz,
Hlements of the culture of the circumpolar zone, by W. G. Bogoras.
The Tell en-Nasbeh Excavations of 1929—a preliminary report, by William
Frederie Badé.
Recent progress in the field of Old World prehistory, by George Grant Mac-
Curdy.
Ancient seating furniture in the collections of the United States National
Museum, by Walter Hough.
Aspects of aboriginal decorative art in America based on specimens in the
United States National Museum, by Herbert W. Krieger.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 87
The acclimatization of the white race in the Tropics, by Robert De C. Ward.
The eighth wonder: The Holland Vehicular Tunnel, by Carl C. Gray and H. F.
Hagen.
Jesse Walter Fewkes, by John R. Swanton and F. H. H. Roberts, jr.
George Perkins Merrill, by Charles Schuchert.
Report for 1931—The report of the executive committee and pro-
ceedings of the Board of Regents of the Institution and the report
of the Secretary, both forming parts of the annual report of the
Board of Regents to Congress, were issued in December, 1931.
Report of the executive committee and proceedings of the Board of Regents
ot the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending June 30, 1931. 12 pp.
(Publ. 3129.)
Report of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the year ending
June 80, 1931. 159 pp., 2 pls., 9 text figs. (Publ. 3128.)
The Report volume, containing the general appendix, was in press
at the close of the year.
ASTROPHYSICAL OBSERVATORY PUBLICATIONS
Annals of the Astrophysical Observatory, Vol. V, by C. G. Abbot, L. B. Aldrich,
and F. E. Fowle. 295 pp., 9 pls., 33 text figs. (Publ. 3121.) April 20, 1932.
FREER GALLERY OF ART PUBLICATIONS
The Freer Gallery of Art. 5 pp. (Fourth printing.) August 6, 19382.
SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS
Explorations and field work of the Smithsonian Institution in 1931. 190 pp.,
182 figs. (Publ. 3134.) April 21, 1932.
Hanabook of the National Aircraft Collection exhibited in the United States
National Museum under the direction of the Smithscnian Institution, by Paul
Edward Garber. Fourth edition. 32 pp., 38 illustrations. (Publ. 3139.) April
5, 1982.
Smithsonian Mathematical Tables—Hyperbolic Functions. Prepared by
George F. Becker and C. E. Van Orstrand. Fourth reprint. 321 pp. (Publ. 1871.)
October 28, 1931.
PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM
The editorial work of the National Museum has continued during
the year under the immediate direction of the editor, Paul H. Oehser.
There were issued 1 annual report, 2 volumes of proceedings, 5 com-
plete bulletins, 3 parts of bulletins, 1 paper in the series Contribu-
tions from the National Herbarium, and 53 separates from the
proceedings.
The issues of the bulletin were as follows:
Bulletin 100, vol. 2. Papers on collections gathered by the Albatross Philippine
expedition, 1907-1910.
88 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Bulletin 104. The Foraminifera of the Atlantic Ocean. Part 8. Rotaliidae,
Amphisteginidae, Calcarinidae, Cymbaloporettidae, Globorotaliidae, Anoma-
linidae, Planorbulinidae, Rupertiidae, and Homotremidae, by Joseph Augus-
tine Cushman.
Bulletin 156. Aboriginal Indian pottery of the Dominican Republic, by Herbert
W. Krieger.
Bulletin 157. The butterflies of the District of Columbia and vicinity, by Austin
H. Clark.
Bulletin 159. The birds of the Natuna Islands, by Harry C. Oberholser.
Bulletin 160. Mexican tailless amphibians in the United States National Mu-
seum, by Remington Kellogg.
Bulletin 161. The Foraminifera of the Tropical Pacific collections of the Alba-
tross, 1899-1900. Part 1.—Astrorhizidae to Trochamminidae, by Joseph A.
Cushman.
Bulletin 162. Life histories of North American Gallinaceous birds. Orders
Galliformes and Columbiformes, by Arthur Cleveland Bent,
The following paper was issued in the series Contributions from
the National Herbarium:
Volume 28, Part 2. The American species of Thibaudieae, by Albert C. Smith.
Of the separates from the proceedings, 28 were from volume 79, 21
from volume 80, and 4 from volume 81.
PUBLICATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
The editorial work of the bureau has continued under the imme-
diate direction of the editor, Stanley Searles. During the year seven
bulletins were issued, as follows:
Bulletin 94. Tobacco among the Karuk Indians of California (Harrington).
XXxvi+284 pp., 36 pls., 2 figs.
Bulletin 98. Tales of the Cochiti Indians (Benedict). x-+256 pp.
Bulletin 102. Menominee music (Densmore). xxii+-230 pp., 27 pls., 3 figs.
Bulletin 103. Source material for the social and ceremonial life of the Choctaw
Indians (Swanton). vii+282 pp., 6 pls., 1 fig.
Bulletin 104. A survey of prehistoric sites in the region of Flagstaff, Arizona
(Colton). vii+69 pp., 10 pls., 1 fig.
Bulletin 105. Notes on the Fox Wapandwiweni (Michelson). v+195 pp. 1 fig.
Bulletin 107. Karuk Indian myths (Harrington). v-+34 pp.
REPORT OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
The annual reports of the American Historical Association are
transmitted by the association to the Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution and are communicated by him to Congress, as provided
by the act of incorporation of the association.
The annual report for 1930, volume 1, and the supplemental
volume to the report for 1928 were issued during the year. The
annual reports for 1930, volumes 3 and 4, and 1931, volume 1, and
the supplemental volume to the report for 1929 were in press at the
close of the year.
REPORT OF THE SECRETARY 89
REPORT OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY, DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION
The manuscript of the Thirty-fourth Annual Report of the Na-
tional Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, was trans-
mitted to Congress, in accordance with law, November 9, 1931.
ALLOTMENTS FOR PRINTING
The congressional allotments for the printing of the Smithsonian
report to Congress and the various publications of the Government
bureaus under the administration of the Institution were virtually
used up at the close of the year. The appropriation for the coming
year ending June 30, 1933, totals $60,000, allotted as follows:
Annual report to the Congress of the Board of Regents of the Smith-
Soniamminstitutd ona eres es ee ee ee ee Oe ee ee ee _. $8; 850
Nationa] = Museum=="==) 222 aes ro Pea este nO a SSE ee ORE TH 23, 250
IBUreAULOL Amencan Hthnol Og yas ae = few eee ee ee ee 14, 500
Nationa RG allenyAGie At soe = a's eee ee al ee oe ee 100
Ra GesEea TV alll Gas tea OS da ee he ee ee 100
International Catalogue of Scientific Literature _____________.__________ 50
INAOnAlS ZOolostCalle air kas. = aes ee ee ep SN Spe ee Woe PPS 150
ASELOD IY SCA lt ODSCTV.a'L ORY ss eae es ee pe ee Se ee eR eee J 1, 000
Annual report of the American Historical Association_________________ 12, 000
Respectfully submitted.
W. P. Trus, H'ditor.
Dr. Cuartes G. Ansor,
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution.
orm 182. “ea a
Are.
mecrceplh a name isto of su : nee
Rave Rate ‘as riety Nok AACS Rie
at 1 plpaROAL, 20, ath adh 39, seonaneerit ad syoqu7 fener
oe he By a
ag usefallais ins freee en merae ee ee
at ale eect Al ah see emi a OR nem A ty ae
¥ gobo BCR See ee Tea ame oR Re
cape Lely ee ee a che dBm Kata es ik aOR RE
OF) nagwerabiens lon he anetemila eons Sighietas OmRe ;
o ae Fran open bth yay PRMRISS eB pe da #109 Feestgoloo8. Tanoiteye.
peewee goiarioad) laoiaytiqgotnA
pe ee ee _ ith ph eggs Leslee mecetvasbaceoae acinar fester
ary 4 ages eerkuof Uie Leet tens co nbtianliee gllattgoaqaadt
P “oes SALE ike Mics. Stanle 1 Earn pag tho your saven
Gilovine Wore issued, an tolloaws. er “oA. <) aia BS ad
Rudionin, G4. Tobests atauig ta RS Buians wm tater | Roe
Stu ti+ 2s) ie. OE BM 2 hy . ake 4
prtiet tw Oe Caled 14, ips COME KH Bingk ‘Udit: a ee ;
Mor, la ak biaadd wie (Liepk eons, ,.. =. ie By, of. pis, . [a :
eter 4, Gerree oh ih Sar Lhe wOCLHE a i sewn Oe of the Shochiw
igajeay (Ween: - 2? ne. @ wie. A
AMM Gy PS A hess] seabiatents HMtas Ta ae “esis Of Mike el, Aritena ‘
Coli’. ail & 20 ea, 1G pret Re, |
Pisges POS wwe on the Ver Weiamiwiwenl - Gsiepeteay, 0188 pe i he: ae
bitinie 37, Rowe. cides nti (pcelugios). 7 +5 ip. : ; ;
herve Gr S28 aomatont Rishotour ssoctemem
‘Der ibtiuy! reporte of the Ameren Atonent Asspoavion are
irenemnde the Aaeetintiuatente Bacmthry of the: Getteorn ian
Cestitilins. an) ate, Cem nyt Re ate ergreneae tanec
Yip CW ake: Oh carter PASO RR aE aE. 8 a
diay: samnesianad: piaggenhe gs RAR, Reesinkee Eat) a ‘seaplane 4
fehyitho: ae th) eae: Reg GREE renee voaraeeh. gin: the, yung. ER
nirsand rapa hie HeoRey Nand a ake eae “198, valonts: h pai
itp. oabappalbagent sel mea Meine iol alas nia er ED = nh pais acelys
chia On ne ie oe Mua Hy
|
REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OPE DOA VO@t nk EGENES Oroaeti
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
FORsPfHE-YEARVENDED
TUNE 3 0),1932
To the Board of Regents of the Snuthsonian Institution:
Your executive committee respectfully submits the following report
in relation to the funds of the Smithsonian Institution, together with a
statement of the appropriations by Congress for the Government
bureaus in the administrative charge of the Institution:
SMITHSCNIAN ENDOWMENT FUND
The original bequest of James Smithson was £104,960 8 shillings,
6 pence—$508,318.46. Refunds of money expended in pros-
ecution of the claim, freights, insurance, etc., together with
payment into the fund of the sum of £5,015 which had been
withheld during the lifetime of Madame de la Batut, brought
TEENS, TRUS bro yoitd vey-tEsa TOU FOV rete Aas aie a aah eet A apne ee
Since the original bequest the Institution has received gifts from
various sources, chiefly in the years prior to 1893, the income
from which may be used for the general work of the Institution.
To these gifts has been added capital from savings on income,
gain from sale of securities, etce., bringing the total endowment
$550, 000.
00
for general purposes to the amount of____________-_--__---- 1, 039, 351. 68
The Institution holds also a number of endowment gifts the income
of each being restricted to specific use. These are invested and stand
on the books of the Institution as follows:
Arthur, James, fund, income for investigations and study of sun and
RE COURECKOMEC MCAS UIML ee me a ee rae ee ee my ag en ee a
Bacon, Virginia Purdy, fund, for a traveling scholarship to investigate
fauna of countries other than the United States___._____-_------
Baird, Lucy H.., fund, for creating a memorial to Secretary Baird___--
Barstow, Frederic D., fund, for purchase of animals for the Zoological
Canfield collection fund, for increase and care of the Canfield collec-
bLOMPOLe WIM ETS Gepost oe ee we Mee ee Sey ye at ee eR tae
Casey, Thomas L., fund, for maintenance of the Casey collection and
promotion of researches relating to Coleoptera____.__----------
Chamberlain, Francis Lea, fund, for increase and promotion of Isaac
eascollection, of. cems and: mollusks. 2-28. eae a
Hodgkins fund, specific, for increase and diffusion of more exact
knowledge in regard to nature and properties of atmospheric air_-
Hughes, Bruce, fund, to found Hughes alcove___-----------------
Myer, Catherine Walden, fund, for purchase of first-class works of art
for the use of and benefit of the National Gallery of Art__--_---
$50, 699.
63, 512.
9, 959.
964.
48, 488.
9, 797.
35, 698.
100, 000.
19, 205.
92 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Pell, Cornelia Livingston, fund, for maintenance of Alfred Duane
Pell.collection 22225. 5255s - eee orn hers oe en eae eee $3, 060. 69
Poore, Lucy T., and George W., fund, for general use of the Institu-
tion when principal amounts to the sum of $250,000___________- 62, 842. 17
Reid, Addison T., fund, for founding chair in biology in memory of
Asher ‘Panist: (yy 90m 4 Oe ee OE GL AONE USE EES 25, 478. 94
Roebling fund, for care, improvement, and increase of Roebling
collection:of imimnerals® 24a Sk ee Sek ee A a ee ie eee een ees 52° 987707
Rollins, Miriam and William, fund, for investigations in physics and
chemistry 3223 2 Ue a oe sd i ee ee es 53, 787. 00
Springer, Frank, fund, for care, ete., of Springer collection and
Wor eth haan ae Coe eee ee eee ane et ee eee ee St es 13, 835. 00
Walcott, Charles D. and Mary Vaux, research fund, for development
of geological and paleontological studies and publishing results
thereat awe Fa Cera PE EERE Ee CN Ty ee eeN Ee Sy OS 12, 450. 72
Younger, Helen Walcott, fund, held in trust___._.-..-..--------- 49, $12. 50
Zerbee, Frances Brincklé, fund, for endowment of aquaria__-_____- 964. 84
Total endowment for specific purposes other than Freer
ETO Wal Orne Beak te ahs a ty ele Be ee nee ry Seema he 736, 452. 68
FREER GALLERY OF ART FUND
Early in 1906, by deed of gift, Charles L. Freer, of Detroit, gave
to the Institution his collection of Chinese and other oriental objects
of art, as well as paintings, etchings, and other works of art by
Whistler, Thayer, Dewing, and other artists. Later he also gave
funds for the construction of a building to house the collection, and
finally, in his will, probated November 6, 1919, he provided stock and
securities to the estimated value of $1,958,591.42 as an endowment
fund for the operation of the gallery. In view of the importance and
special nature of the gift and the requirements of the testator in respect
to it, all Freer funds are kept separate from the other funds of the
Institution, and the accounting in respect to them is stated separately.
The invested funds of the Freer bequest are classified as follows:
Courtiand prowunds fund 2). ruse re ek te a $580, 016, 22
Court-and grounds maintenance fund: _.- 7-2. ee 145, 171. 79
WIT ALOR UIT) Gis es 8 Ps es A ee Mes hk ee aie come UST oath pe 589, 7638. 31
Residuary legacy 25. nc tee ee eB 3, 858, 208. 44
Totalle cop. Fe ee ee BES ea BR Ra ot 5, 173, 159. 76
SUMMARY
Invested endowment for general purposes_------------------- $1, 039, 351. 68
Invested endowment for specific purposes other than Freer en-
RO WOTNA CIN is pes ne a ES OES EEA EEE AE 736, 452. 68
Total invested endowment other than Freer endowment_ 1, 775, 804. 36
Freer invested endowment for specific purposes-_ --_---.-------- 5, 173, 159. 76
Total invested endowment for all purposes_—_---------- 6, 948, 964. 12
REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 93
CLASSIFICATION OF INVESTMENTS
Deposited in the United States Treasury at 6 per cent per annum
as authorized in the United States Revised Statutes, section
SES Oe ee ea gee eee re he OM OL LT Le ee $1, 000, 000. 00
Investments other than Freer endowment:
Bondsecst. 55 Serene sence oe ee eer $309, 191. 11
FSR EOVE EES is 2B ae he me BaP Oa 459, 773. 42
Real estate first-mortgage notes___---~---- 6, 500. 00
Wninvestedicapitale ie oe a ee eet 339. 83
SS 775, 804. 36
Total investments other than Freer endowment--_-_------ 1, 775, 804. 36
Investments of Freer endowment:
Bonds... 2 =. pee oe? Aim op cere eae $2, 6238, 665. 18
Stocksskso822 RT LA ths Pe Ta 2, 465, 015. 68
Real estate first-mortgage notes___-------- 61, 000. 00
Uninvested capitals = so5 escent a mpae s 23, 478. 90
———_————— __ 5, 178, 159. 76
NotaletrvestUAeriis see ee eee eee ee ere Oe ee ee a 6, 948, 964. 12
CASH BALANCES, RECEIPTS, AND DISBURSEMENTS DURING THE FISCAL
YEAR !
Cash balance onthand Jaime 0; LOS ene ee oe eee $224, 221. 84
Receipts:
Cash from invested endowments and from mis-
cellaneous sources for general use of the Insti-
CUGONS Doh oS oS Se Aaa = & $72, 209. 95
Cash gifts for increase of endowments for specific
MUS oa Sette ee a eet SENSE SESE ES 300. 00
Cash gifts for increase of endowments for general
MSOs Partin yee gs LR, ek png) Leyte sed 100, 000. 00
Cash gifts, etce., for specific use (not to be in-
VCR UEC) Lo meres memreerrtnr es, nae Cyt Rent ap ee CP 33, 761. 71
Cash received as royalties from sales of Smith-
SOMANMSCIENbIN Cy OCTICS= =a = a He a 12, 317. 36
Cash income from endowments for specific use
other than Freer endowment and from miscel-
laneous sources (including refund of temporary
sd vances) 2 VOTE TO YO s Olé oh 48, 498. 02
Cash capital from sale, call of securities, ete. (to
DeEreinviesied aap eee oe hal Sse oo Hoar
Total receipts other than Freer endowment----_---------- 322, 104. 31
Cash receipts from Freer endowment—income
fromuinviestments e224) 2) Ae ems TS eee 281, 476. 85
Gain from sale, etc.; of securities__------.--=.- 2, 819. 50
Cash capital from sale, call of securities, etc. (to
bemreinvested) agree 253. 6s 479, 009. 62
763, 305. 97
ICG fe) Ses pk es eM ere Petty RN le ine eS Ca 1, 309, 632. 12
1 This statement does not include Government appropriations under the administrative charge of the
Institution.
94 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Disbursements:
From funds for general work of the Institution—
Buildings, care, repairs, and alterations____ $38, 282. 65
ARTSY WHE EAT Clee GCSEs ES ae eae ee 402. 64
Generalcadmainistrs ilo mess ee ss eee 28, 075. 92
Tibor gry ae ee eit eee ee 3, 078. 20
Publications (comprising preparation, print-
INS WARIS tLLOUGION) = 9 = 52 oe oe 22, 317. 21
Researches and explorations_______------- 17, 768. 42
International exchanges___--=__—-_-_=—_2-_ 4, 287. 72
aA
From funds for specific use, other than Freer
endowment—
Investments made from gifts, from gain from
sales, etc., of securities and from savings
OM TMC ORVO SESE ee a ee see eee 7, 653. 23
Other expenditures, consisting largely of re-
search work, travel, increase and care of
special collections, ete., from income of
endowment funds and from cash gifts for
specific use (including temporary ad-
YEE OV EXSY S) ety mg cs tay caine Ht Soo el geht Ea POM S7
Reinvestment of cash capital from sale, call
of securities, ete... 22. 2. Peo ne 56, 294. 40
—————— 175,019.00
From Freer endowment—
Operating expenses of the gallery, salaries,
purchases of art objects, field expenses,
CbC Wo ese ae = oe oes seh ota eter ds pe he 327, 575. 69
Investments made from gain from sale, etc.,
of securities and from income__________- 26, 825. 40
Reinvestment of cash capital, from sale, call
of securities, etc=03 .4d- ets gee aise 450, 728. 68
805, 129. 77
Balance June 30, 1938Q2eu8 5. salqec sce ashi ao ee 250, 270. 59
Total L-52 Aaa lacs Big ea ie id peered a 1, 309, 632. 12
EXPENDITURES FOR RESEARCHES IN PURE SCIENCE, EXPLORATIONS,
CARE, INCREASE, AND STUDY OF COLLECTIONS, ETC.
Expenditures from general endowment:
Publications: <2. toes eee a ee ee eae ee ee $22, 317. 21
Researches and explorations._.......-.-=----. 17, 768. 42
————— $40, 085. 63
Expenditures from funds devoted to specific pur-
poses:
Researches and explorations..____..---------- 71, 098. 02
Care, increase, and study of special collections__ 7, 320. 19
PD Ga Vins a2. ee! ort eee ee tere ite ee See eB 22, 766. 39
101, 184. 60
PR OUR S25 en eee eee ire eer ene eens 141, 270. 23
1 This includes salaries of the Secretary and certain others.
REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
95
Table showing growth of endowment funds of the Smithsonian Institution
Hacowment tor fee
erat work OL th® | endowment for :
Institution, bein . ed -
a original Smithson |SPeeificresearches) rnction ot reer
wages gifts rom NORTE savings Geyer Art
other sources, and | "of income wildine
of income
1846-1891______ OZ OOO OO ete ens aoe ae a eee
S92 See See a S022 000700 RI S101 5000800) saan ees
1893-1894______ SoZ eOOOLOOn MOL CO0T00 Pease
1895-1903______ SHU OOO ODN WO COO C0) | eel ae
1904-1913______ SS5uSOZ OSU a uleGO24 42) te eee ee
AOA a Ope ore S855 SOG58 AIG. 692842) = Seger ee
WM ayes oh a sat 886084502 || TAS SRoaOS: een a ee aes
ONG 2. ye ae 887, 607. 08 | 160, 527. 30 |$1, C00, 000. 00
Qe eg eee Ae Soi/5 corn) |f Ged Stee busts). |e ee
QUE AP ay Sr ereyeyy ono o Oils PAS IMG ets), Pe oe Se Ba ey ees
WOMO pe: PEE. eee 884273055 0OL 19054390353) teen se Eee
TOP Ones ec 840747 COn LOS 1 10002) wees Waker
1-2) hea ate eee 884, 933. 74 | 272, 538. 31 | 3 367, 072. 04
O22 Meee. dae eae SSOmLOM AS R291 So Sela > |e ere ieee
PO ZSEA SO SOR CHOY GE RO Gye ee ee aes
LO2QASK Be 2. SSO wala oes LO Os lO | ee ee eee
TODS er ee SoS SIX Os Her] Bers USS Uh poe eee Se
OZ Geeta Es eel SSGwSs OM aia ress en Slee oes ey eee a ee ann
NO 2a ee CSO ST ado 44 9874.09 On aa eee ee
NO2Sae Me os =. 929068221 1566552335205 |e £ Desa
KO 2ZORE SS Se By OP RAS (aon || OAs, OUR: 70 snocecsosseuse
NOS Oe be oe oe = TRO SOM SOs SOM MOOG MO 2OO) Rees ee
183 lee ele es IP OES Coa aie | AOI QU I) ee eee ee ee
ISR Pate, Lowen of (DSS), -QXSM iis} of) WGK ees lsie| ae oe eee
1 Original endowment plus income from savings during these years.
2 Loss on account of bonds reduced on books from par to market value.
Freer bequest for
operation of Freer
Gallery of Art
including salaries,
care, ete.
$1, 253, 004. 75
1, 842, 144. 75
43,296, 574. 75
3, 401, 355. 42
3, 459, 705. 34
3, 714, 361. 23
4, 171, 880. 61
4, 268, 244. 26
5, 236, 054. 02
5, 300, 929. 50
5, 367, 711. 51
5, 173, 159. 76
3 Cash from sale of 2,000 shares of Parke, Davis & Co. stock, including dividends, and interest on gift of
$1,000,000,
4In this year Parke, Davis & Co. declared 100 per cent stock dividend.
5 Increase largely from funds transferred from specific endowment column and income released for general
work of the Institution.
BALANCE SHEET OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION JUNE 30, 19382
ASSETS
Stocks, bonds, etc., at acquirement value:
Consolidated fund. >. = o.oo on eons $711, 817. 03
TET DeQUCSt Re ee Lene eee epee ee 5, 149, 680. 86
Springer fund Oi ots Or SIA Oa 13, 835. 00
Wounger fund:s lerengy 55. yo sengras_ 49, 812. 50
WnitedsStates. Preasury .deposite. 2). mee Se ee
Miscellaneous, principally funds advanced for printing publica-
tions, and field expenses (to be repaid)____________________-
Cash:
Funds in United States Treasury and in
tay Sol ito oe ees Ae ee ee 2 Ae ener £ aero pene) See ie oe $250, 270. 59
In office safe, for cash transactions________ 1, 900. 00
7, 253, 994. 39
$5, 925, 145. 39
1, 660, 000. 00
76, 678. 41
252, 170. 59
96 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
LIABILITIES
Freer bequest, capital accounts:
Court and:grounds#und 2222. S22 a $580, 016. 22
Court and grounds maintenance fund____-- 145, 171. 79
Gurster fund 2s. sees. 2 ee bilost ia 589, 763. 31
Residuary estate'fund.——----_-~222..---_= 3, 858, 208. 44
Sls TR UE
Axthur; James,-fund....--> ---<-l2-=-25s 52222, ASU ee eT 50, 699. 31
Beco ra huni cle See ee ae ere ee ee ae epee cs 63, 512. 52
Baird fund 2" fe eh ape ay pee ne epee acta 0 9, 959. 05
Barstow, Fredene D-.; fund. = i-£2-caa_ ft) Ba See ae ke 964. 27
Canfield.collection fund... > SV0_012 | 6G NUR ae 1 48, 488. 51
@aseys “Phomesdiineoin. tame. re ee fee tree eae Bee 9, 797. 14
Chamberlain fund." =. — 5 Soe “sme eae ah Bae oo 2 o 35, 698. 68
Hodgkins fund; specific... -- 1-8 Ar avr dn yaa eee ee 100, 000. 00
Hughes, Bruce, fund «<2... 2 <1 Oe SE A PL A ery 19, 205. 63
IVE yicree Uni gle Sm Ui 0 eee Ce a ee eae Se ee ee ee a 22, 907. 94
Pell funds soc be LE ee eee fee eee ary Ee 3, 060. 69
Poorépiimnid= S06 to eee a ee ee ee BRO EAA 62, 842. 17
Reidekundeh ee = fee eee a Lt Te i oe 28 2 A Ba ae oY CO 8 2 ee 25, 478. 94
Roebling scollectromefinmal= = scare ee a he ee 152, 987. 77
Rollins:“Miriamrand William. funda 246-2. oe See wee 538, 787. 00
Smithsonian junrestricted fund—- oe foc Age -c Fel ean bey e 1, 039, 351. 68
SprmeerTUnd bee ee Rt GS eee ee eek 13, 835. 00
Walcott research fund_____-—_-__- Bipasha bebe i Son paki Uh ig he tie Lay So 12, 450. 72
Vounseniund. 20 2 lnk ps eet a enc ee 49, 812. 50
Zerbee; Frances! brincklée, fund 8 eo. 2k Se ee et ee ee 964. 84
CURRENT ACCOUNTS
Nréernbequiles tiie 20 aera cringe: Agave es OT ee SS ark ORM 66, 306. 11
Springershund ese Oe ys isda a Nis aye sel 2 eh al ee ee 5, 265. 41
VWounceriund sss seen eee 2 OUNe eee Se 4 See eee PNT HV)
Miscellaneous accounts held by the Institution for the most
part for specific vse: erste pane Se ee oles oe prey ay: Leer 238, 241. 25
DOU FS PE A Oe i, eee ene as eB 7, 253, 994. 39
During the year, the Institution received as gifts a total of approxi-
mately $135,000, which included donations for specific uses not to
be invested, for increase of endowments for specific purposes, and a
bequest of $100,000 for the increase of the general endowment fund.
All payments are made by check, signed by the Secretary of the
Institution, on the Treasurer of the United States, and all revenues
are deposited to the credit of the same account. In many instances
deposits are placed in bank for convenience of collection and later
are withdrawn in round amounts and deposited in the Treasury.
The practice of investing temporarily idle funds in time deposits
has proven satisfactory. During the year the interest derived from
this source has resulted in a total of $5,364.02.
The foregoing report relates only to the private funds of the Smith-
sonian Institution. The following is a statement of the congressional
97
REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
appropriations for the past 10 years for the support of the several
governmental branches under the administrative control of the Insti-
tution and of appropriations for other special purposes during that
period.
Table showing the appropriations made by Congress during the last 10 years, in-
trusted to the care of the Smithsonian Institution
Interna-
Coopera- |,- Astro-
Interna- : ; _|tional Cat- Sse Increase of ane Gellatly
Year | tionaiex: | Ametican | tive ethno aiogue of | BESSA! | eompensa-) NetlonAl | art cl
changes searches < eee as tory tion | lection
Tips eee ees $45, 000 G44, COO ee tee Ces $7, 500. 00 $15, 500 $109, 044 S41 Sel 20 8 eee
1924420232 43, G00 FAS OO We ieee = Ss Ls 7, 500. 00 15, 500 112, 704 415.000) |= 2-2 See
HOD) eo 49, 550 Bi, GO Rea = 2 Ree 8, 861. 66 ZAP DSON pene ee Ses oe 041s, 202) | = ee Se
19262222 46, 260 yak) geen 8, 000. 00 ASL SO) eed See ee Fe nat: sity ll Ress Se
7a es 46, 260 OieLGO) |: Sees Sree 7, 500. 00 S800 ee ee O65E 820i Ree aan
19282822 46, 855 DS 20 nee eee 7, 260. 00 32/1060), |e eee 606;960) 25 =e
1OQQE=eE 50, 355 65, 800 $20,000 | 7,885.00 3656501 |< eee VOL 5 245) Cees eee
1930 2_____ 51, 297 68, ;}00i9) se 25 Se ee at -- 7, 885. 00 ONC eee eee ee 717, 014 $21, 000
193Tt es2 52, 810 CONS4O [Ee See Stoke 8, 145. 00 SU 5609) tt eee eee 7793, 894 j 20, 000
193222—=-2 54, 060 (2040) ee oe 8, 150. 00 DT NOZ0 gee ee 775, C90 20, 000
Safeguard- | AGGE
ing dome of} National | Additional} National | Printing | Additional Ga laniosnicitionaleare
Year Natural | Zoological | for Zoologi-i Gallery of| and bind-| assistant |* a Baca eoter
History Park eal Park Art ing secretary “oteiats is on
Building
$125, 000 $2, 500 | ‘$15,000 | £2$77, 400
125) O00) Seeee see 16, 000 77, 400
Sp Lae hy i oe he ee 20,158 | ° 90,000
T572000)| 2s 21, 028 $0, 000
bol 99h | == See ea eee 29, 381 90, 000
175, 000 3 25, 000 30, 356 $0, 000
195, 550 3 30, 000 35, 273 95, 000
203, 000 6 222, 000 34,853 | — 95,000
220, 520 8 28, 000 45, 218 ~ 99, 000
255, 540 9 4, 500 45, 220 104, 000
! Increase in appropriation due to Government assuming part of the expenses of the Chilean Station,
which up to this time had been supported by private funds of the Smithsonian Institution.
2 Increases over former figures due to passage of Welch Act.
3 Building for birds.
4 After 1928 this item is included in appropriation for salaries and expenses.
5 Work done by Supervising Architect and funds disbursed by United States Treasury.
6 Building for reptiles, ete., $220,000; gates for south boundary of park, $2,000.
7 Includes plans for additions to Natural History Building, $10,000.
8 Additional for building for reptiles.
§ Plans for building for small mammals.
The report of the audit of the Smithsonian private funds is printed
below.
OctToseER 1, 19382.
EXECUTIVE CoMMITTEE, BoaRpD oF REGENTS,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.
Sirs: Pursuant to agreement we have audited the accounts of the Smithsonian
Institution for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1932, and certify the balance of
cash on hand June 30, 1932, to be $252,170.59.
We have verified the record of receipts and disbursements maintained by
the Institution and the agreement of the book balances with the bank balances.
We have examined all the securities in the custody of the Institution and in
the custody of the banks and found them to agree with the book records.
We have compared the stated income of such securities with the receipts of
record and found them in agreement therewith.
98 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
We have examined all vouchers covering disbursements for account of the
Institution during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1932, together with the authority
therefor, and have compared them with the Institution’s record of expenditures
and found them to agree.
We have examined and verified the accounts of the Institution with each
trust fund.
We found the books of account and records well and accurately kept and the
securities conveniently filed and securely cared for.
All information requested by your auditors was promptly and courteously
furnished.
We certify the Balance Sheet, in our opinion, correctly presents the financial
condition of the Institution as at June 30, 1932.
WituraM L. Yancsr & Co.,
WituiaM L. YAEGER,
Certified Public Accountant.
Respectfully submitted.
Freperic A. DELANO
R. Watton Moore
Joun C. Merriam
Erecutive Committee.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF
THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FOR THE
PES CATCVE AR HIND E Di UINENSO9 1932
ANNUAL MEETING, DECEMBER 10, 1931
Present: Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, chancellor, in the
chair, Senator Reed Smoot, Senator Joseph T. Robinson, Senator
Claude A. Swanson, Representative Albert Johnson, Representative
Robert Luce, Hon. R. Walton Moore, Frederic A. Delano, Dr.
John C. Merriam, and the secretary, Dr. C. G. Abbot. Dr. Alex-
ander Wetmore, assistant secretary, was also present.
The secretary announced that on March 3, 1931, the President pro
tempore of the Senate appointed Senator Joseph R. Robinson as a
Regent to succeed himself.
Mr. Delano, chairman of the executive committee, offered the
following resolution, which was adopted:
Resolved, That the income of the Institution for the fiscal year ending June
30, 1938, be appropriated for the service of the Institution, to be expended by
the secretary, with the advice of the executive committee, with full discretion
on the part of the secretary as to items.
The secretary submitted his annual report to June 30, 1931, and
added a résumé, prepared by the editor, relating to publications
issued by the Institution during the year. The editorial work of
the Institution had been reorganized for the sake of greater unity
of policy and increased efficiency. Instead of maintaining three
separate editorial offices as formerly, the responsibility for all of
the 13 series issued under the Institution was centered in the editor
of the Smithsonian proper, and all of the editorial staff was moved
into a group of offices close together on the third floor of this building.
Mr. Delano presented the report of the executive committee for
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1931, showing the financial condition of
the Institution for that period.
The annual report of the National Gallery of Art Commission was
accepted, and the board adopted the following resolutions:
Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution hereby
approves the recommendation of the National Gallery of Art Commission that
James EK. Fraser, J. H. Gest, F. J. Mather, jr., and E. C. Tarbell, be reelected as
members of the commission for the ensuing term of four years, their present
terms having expired.
Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution hereby
approves the recommendation of the National Gallery of Art Commission that
149571—33——_8 Sh)
100 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
the three vacancies in the commission caused by the death of members, be filled
by the election of George B. McClellan to succeed W. K. Bixby, Thomas Cochran
to sueceed James Parmelee, and Paul Manship to succeed Daniel Chester French.
The secretary reported that the Langley Gold Medal, awarded to
Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, had been presented on March 27, 1931,
and that this ceremony had been noted in the previous annual report.
The secretary said that the Regents were aware of the death of
Senator Dwight W. Morrow on October 5, 1931. He had been a
Regent of the Institution for nearly five years when his membership
on this Board was terminated automatically by his induction, on
December 3, 1930, as a Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. Moore offered the following resolutions which were adopted:
Whereas death has removed from his career of usefulness to our country and
the world the late Dwight W. Morrow, Senator from New Jersey, and
Whereas during his too brief service as Regent of the Smithsonian Institution—
from January 7, 1926, to December 3, 19830—-Mr. Morrow gave unstintedly of his
time and counsel to promote the vital interests of the Institution, and inaugurated
movements of exceptional value to it, and
Whereas by generous gifts during his lifetime and by a large unconditional
bequest he has greatly increased the endowment of the Institution: Therefore
be it
Resolved, That the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution hereby
expresses its profound sense of loss to the Nation and to the Institution in the
passing of Senator Morrow; and be it further
Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of the board, and
that a copy be sent, with an expression of our deepest sympathy, to the family of
Mr. Morrow.
The secretary stated that John Gellatly died November 8, 1931.
It will be recalled that in 1929 and in 1930 Mr. Gellatly gave his
great collection of art objects to the Institution for eventual exhibition
in the National Gallery of Art.
The secretary said that the attention of the board had been called
to a bequest to the Institution by James Arthur, of New York City,
the income of which was to be used for (a) the investigation and study
of the sun; (6) to provide annually a lecture to be known as The James
Arthur Annual Lecture on the Sun. The first Arthur lecture would
be given by the distinguished astronomer, Dr. Henry Norris Russell,
of Princeton University, on January 27, 1932.
The board had been informed that through the generosity of Am-
bassador Dawes, Dr. Charles Upson Clark had been engaged for over
two years in conducting researches in European archives, the special
objective being a search for early native and Spanish documents
relating to the Indians of the period of the Conquest, or earlier. The
secretary added that the matter collected by Doctor Clark was being
prepared for publication, though at this time there was no money
available for that purpose. He hoped, however, that at some future
time means might be secured to publish this valuable material.
PROCEEDINGS OF REGENTS 101
The secretary said that royalties were being received from the sale
of the Smithsonian Scientific Series. These now totaled $53,510.46
in cash, and further returns were to be expected in the years to come.
The secretary then spoke of the work being conducted under gener-
ous grants from John A. Roebling and the Research Corporation, and
also of the gratifying results of the sales of the volumes of North Ameri-
can Wild Flowers; after which Doctor Wetmore made a statement of
the exploration work done by members of the National Museum
staff. This was followed by an explanation of the proposed additions
to the present Museum building, during which the plans for this
construction were exhibited.
The secretary concluded his statement with a brief description of
the work done in the field by ethnologists of the Bureau of American
Ethnology, and also of the results accomplished at the National
Zoological Park.
REGULAR MEETING OF FEBRUARY 11, 1932
Present: Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes, chancellor, in the
chair, Senator Joseph T. Robinson, Representative Albert Johnson,
Representative Andrew J. Montague, Representative T. Alan Golds-
borough, and the secretary, Dr. C.G. Abbot. Dr. Alexander Wetmore,
assistant secretary, was also present.
The secretary reported that on December 16, 1931, the Speaker
of the House of Representatives had appointed Albert Johnson, of
Washington, to succeed himself; and Andrew J. Montague, of Virginia,
and T. Alan Goldsborough, of Maryland, to succeed R. Walton
Moore and Robert Luce, respectively.
The secretary read a letter from Mrs. Elizabeth C. Morrow express-
ing appreciation of the resolutions adopted by the board upon the
death of her husband, Senator Dwight W. Morrow. He then gave
a brief history of the origin and establishment of the Research Cor-
poration, stating that during the last few years it had made grants
to the Institution for conducting certain researches in the growtn of
plant life by the Division of Radiation and Organisms. He ex-
plained the nature of this work and the importance of the sun’s
rays to human, animal, and plant life.
He stated also that the Research Corporation had made awards
through the Smithsonian Institution of $2,500 each to Dr. Andrew
Ellicott Douglass and to Dr. Ernst Antevs for work in their respective
lines, relating to chronology and periodicity in weather, and that
these awards had been presented by the chancellor at a ceremony
recently. The presentations were followed by addresses by the
recipients.
The secretary announced that the first lecture under the James
Arthur bequest was delivered January 27, 1932, by Dr. Henry
102 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Norris Russell, of Princeton University, and that on February 24
Dr. Ale’ Hrdli¢ka, Curator of the Division of Physical Anthropology
of the National Museum, would lecture upon his recent researches
in Alaska; also that on March 30 a lecture would be given by Dr.
A. C. Seward, Master of Downing College, Cambridge University,
a noted English botanist.
The secretary then referred to the project for the addition of wings
to the present National Museum Building, and requested Doctor
Wetmore to explain the matter.
Doctor Wetmore exhibited the plans for these additions, which
had been prepared by the Allied Architects of Washington, under
the supervision of Nathan Wyeth. ‘These were made _ possible
by an appropriation of $10,000 for this purpose. He described the
proposed arrangement of exhibition halls, office rooms, and labora-
tories, and in answer to Mr. Johnson’s inquiry explained that no
appropriation for this construction was expected at this time, but
that the matter had been brought before the House committee as a
matter of record.
GENERAL APPENDIX
TO THE
SMITHSONIAN REPORT FOR 1982
103
res
+. - '
het Alen
uh ar Dr,
a
i i
a
;
_'
r
4
s
i
:
:
ADVERTISEMENT
The object of the Grenrrat Apprenprx to the Annual Report of the
Smithsonian Institution is to furnish brief accounts of scientific
discovery 1n particular directions; reports of investigations made by
collaborators of the Institution; and memoirs of a general character
cr on special topics that are of interest or value to the numerous cor-
respondents of the Institution.
It has been a prominent object of the Board of Regents of the
Smithsonian Institution from a very early date to enrich the annual
report required of them by law with memoirs illustrating the more
remarkable and important developments in physical and biological
discovery, as well as showing the general character of the operations
of the Institution; and, during the greater part of its history, this
purpose has been carried out largely by the publication of such
papers as would possess an interest to all attracted by scientific
progress.
In 1880, induced in part by the discontinuance of an annual sum-
mary of progress which for 30 years previously had been issued by
well-known private publishing firms, the secretary had a series of
abstracts prepared by competent coliaborators, showing concisely
the prominent features of recent scientific progress in astronomy,
geology, meteorology, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, botany, zool-
ogy, and anthropology. This latter plan was continued, though, not
altogether satisfactorily, down to and including the year 1888.
In the report for 1889 a return was made to the earlier method of
presenting a miscellaneaus selection of papers (some of them origi-
nal) embracing a considerable range of scientific investigation and
discussion. ‘This method has been continued in the present report for
1932.
105
=
ge
na
f
~
Lo. afd
eidabo in eho ss tii rey ca ad ai apne whe: nae us ft i
“i shan eiiiimilenvar bo adage feromaarib solueitast; ti asf
Mistiins livaiwe 2 16 syemom pag piesa ails. io z10k: ca
Tao Miatben A ald of sila? to Janivial to wie deds-eoiged. Laivacge: mi “k
sintiniiedtt oo) to eiasbttog oh
Hi Yo, sued Yo braotl odd to dooido dnonieorg & nosd) :
teiinn ott dbinne.ot alnh vag yiee a mio solitaire eacsastertenye
evar old pote naulli aulumnent, diby wal qi ade To besinpet houos
hivigoloid hos Issiavilag 1 elienrgolsveb dnastogits: Das abduct ia
aloiwnge. sdf to inoue lovonsy odd satyode os lew ae peeyoseurs x!
en waoisid att do sony tahaere sii ang ton puobsaaaaE, Gly 1 ro
fete te notksondag ode Ya pivweal dao. hairy iad aed. 920g se f
sitiiming yt Gelatin fe of tevieiur ite eins Bigow: ae
“ie fadaak wr to oadenuntaamth alt qi eee wi sonia 088E a .
vd beneai aged atl ylenorweary erave OF 46% dot euororey TO § agit
To eoiad oe lenck v2N yas oclt accrytt auridariciie skeriny: sxivoottal- el
pliaisnns. yainorle aioigiodallos daateqnms vat hesageiy -eiserviedls
“ymdnoties af menjou) olbhieine doko dey soagseot wisainsoney Sti
ions ,Yandu! -ygelmisatta ,ynatade suerte -yaolonmiom ¥20
low ,utiods aestinas enw any rttul ain't Acgulogomiine bie pi
(SAF tase ot uiibubat bas ofa ¢itretasteited ta i
»hailten olter adt od sbant enw acudes & O22E rot Jogos, ollt t aE
Avis cel) }a-suios) eraqag To maiinglee + npagelisoelins A sits aq a
bite noliegiteived vitasee To sgres sldsohiedos # se haar f A
tol iar Inseote odd Ay hourtiuey need ant Bodisinaitl stot .
i
aii
\ege oat i ie Cy rate _— 7
SOLAR RADIATION?
By C. G. ABBOT
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
[With 3 plates]
Directly or indirectly our most important interests depend on the
solar radiation. The sun rays keep the earth warm enough to
sustain life. Variations of their intensity associated with summer
and winter, and with night and day, produce climates. Slght
variations of the original output of rays from the sun itself seem
to be highly influential in altering the weather. All growth in plants
depends upon the application of solar energy. Our atmosphere is
the source of carbon, which is a principal plant constituent. The
trifling percentage of carbonic-acid gas contained in air is the es-
sential food of plants, but it can not nourish them without the help
of radiation. The health of animals, including man, requires radia-
tion. The prevention of rickets by the curious direct and indirect
influences of ultra-violet rays has formed a fascinating chapter in
the story of recent investigations.
Power is principally derived indirectly from solar radiation. Solar
heat evaporates the oceans, drives the clouds inland, precipitates the
rain and snow, and thus maintains the world’s hydroelectric power
sources. Hnormous as these are, they are, nevertheless, trifling
compared to the power derived from oil and coal. Oil, the less
important of these two sources, comes mainly from animal life that
was sustained ages ago by the vegetation fed by the ancient sun.
Coal, on the other hand, is the end product of decomposition of
vegetation. The enormous deposits of coal, which are now the
world’s principal sources of power, represent but a trifling percentage
of the solar energy lavished on the earth in former geologic ages.
These are highly indirect applications of solar radiation for power
supplies. It is possible, however, as numerous inventors have shown,
to produce heat for driving engines by the direct absorption of solar
rays. If the devices now available for this purpose should be but a
1 Reprinted, by permission, from the Proceedings of the Ohio State Educational Con-
ference, Eleventh Annual Session, The Ohio State University Bulletin, vol. 36, No. 3,
Sept. 15, 1931.
107
108 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
little more improved, the desert regions of the world could supply
cheap solar power in quantities beyond the extremest possibilities of
future world demands. A lesser, but still interesting aspect of solar
radiation, lies in its use for domestic purposes. Food may be cooked,
and water may be heated by simple and inexpensive contrivances for
utilizing solar radiation,
it may be that none of the services rendered to us by the sun
is more important than its esthetic use. The colors of all flowers
represent the fragments of the complete solar spectrum remaining
after the pigments of the plant world have absorbed certain rays.
Unabsorbed remainders are reflected and produce gorgeous mixtures
of colors. Without the green of the grass and trees, the blue of the
sky, the brilliant hues of flowers, and the more somber, but yet
pleasing shades of the soil, and thousands of familiar objects on all
sides, we should be sad indeed.
Though thus obviously so important, it is little more than a
century since measurements began to be made of the intensity of the
solar radiation. Pioneers in this investigation were C. 8. M. Pouillet,
Sir John Herschel, and J. D. Forbes. They all devised instruments
adapted to absorb the solar radiation as completely as possible and
thus to convert it into heat. By appropriate devices for measuring
the heat thus produced, they obiained measurements of the intensity
of solar radiation. So intimate is the association between radiation
and heat that many people have contused the two. Yet they are
distinct and different. Radiation comprises a mixture of impulses
which traverse a vacuum at the enormous speed of 186,000 miles
per second. These impulses are separable by prisms or gratings into
innumerable regular periodicities. These periodicities produce dif-
ferent sensations of color in our eyes. Many of them, indeed, are
invisible to us. Since radiation can traverse the vacuum and never-
theless seems to comprise transverse waves of exceeding shortness,
philosophic minds have not been content to contemplate so great
a paradox as waves traveling in nothingness. They have devised
the idea of the luminiferous ether as a medium filling all space. At
present, our ideas are in a state of flux regarding this abstruse subject,
but at least we can think of radiation as something which can exist
where there is no matter in the ordinary sense, for it comes to us
across an immense void from the sun and the stars. Heat, on the
contrary, is well recognized to be the motion of the molecules of
material substances. ‘The energy of radiation is competent to stir
up this mode of motion called heat when, for instance, radiation is ab-
sorbed by a black object. If the object is “absolutely black,” ab-
sorption is complete and all the energy of the ray is transformed
into heat.
SOLAR RADIATION—-ABBOT 109
The measuring instruments of Pouillet, Herschel, Forbes, and
others exposed surfaces blackened with lampblack. This substance
is not quite “ absolutely black,” for it reflects away about 3 per cent
of ordinary sun rays. Kirchhoff, about 70 years ago, proved that
a closed chamber, whether blackened or not, must be a perfect ab-
sorber. However small the percentage of rays absorbed at one
impact, there is no escape, and the rays must be reflected hither and
thither until by innumerable impacts their intensity is reduced below
any assignable minimum. This principle of the “ absolutely black ”
chamber has been incorporated inte the Smithsonian water-flow
pyrhehometer. This instrument thus far is the world’s standard for
measuring solar radiation.
Assuming, therefore, that we have accomplished the complete
absorption of the solar ray, and its entire transformation into heat,
and have devised means for the exact measurement of the heat thus
produced, we then may express the intensity of solar radiation at the
earth’s surface. We are accustomed to express it in terms of the
amount of radiation absorbed upon a square centimeter of surface
in a minute of time. We measure the heat produced in calories.
In these terms we iind the heat of solar radiation near noon on clear
days to be approximately 1.4 calories per square centimeter per
minute. ‘To state the matter in mere common terms, the solar
radiation, if transformed completely into work, would produce
roughly a horsepower per square yard whenever the sun is high in
the sky. Thus even at 93,000,000 miles, the sun rays are tremen-
dously powerful. The sun itself sends them out in every direction
continually. This output equals the heat of the burning of 400,000,-
000,000,000,000,000,000 tons of anthracite coal per year.
Measurements of solar radiation at the earth’s surface are subject
to losses by absorption and scattering of the rays in our atmosphere.
High up, at an altitude of nearly 40 miles, there exists a small quan-
tity of ozone which is that form of oxygen whose molecules contain
3 atoms instead of the usual 2. Ozone is a complete absorber of all
rays in the extreme ultra-violet from wave length 2,900 A. onward
for a considerable range. This is very fortunate. Otherwise our
skin would be blistered and our eyes blinded, for these short-wave
rays which are totally absorbed by ozone are highly destructive to
animal tissues. On the other hand, it is not less fortunate that ozone
allows some rays on the border of its absorption band to pass, for
these rays between wave lengths 2,900 A. and 3,100 A. are indispen-
sable to prevent rickets. The total thickness of gas of the atmos-
pheric ozone layer, if it could be brought down to sea level, would
be less than one-eighth of an inch. It is astonishing and even terrify-
ing to contemplate the narrow margin of safety on which our lives
110 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
thus depend. Were this trifling quantity of atmospheric ozone re-
moved, we should all perish. If it were ten times greater, we could
not live. Rickets would prevail universally.
Other little-considered atmospheric gases of great importance to
our comfort are water vapor and carbonic acid, both minor constit-
uents of the air, quantitatively speaking. Without the water vapor,
our earth, like the moon, would cool far below freezing every night
within a few moments after the sun sinks below the horizon. Water
vapor hinders the incoming rays of the sun to the extent of 10 to 15
per cent, but it hinders the escape of the long-wave rays emitted by
the earth by over 70 per cent. Thus water vapor acts like the gar-
dener’s glass cover of his hotbed. It lets sun rays in profusely,
but holds earth rays from escaping, and so is an efficient regulator
of climate. Carbonic-acid gas also acts in a somewhat similar way,
but less efficiently than water vapor. The indispensable function of
carbonic-acid gas in our atmosphere is to be the essential food for
plants.
Other atmospheric constituents which greatly modify the income
and outgo of radiation for the earth’s surface are clouds and dust.
The permanent gases, oxygen and nitrogen, alter the incoming sun
rays, 1t is true, but weaken them only slightly, and hardly alter the
outgoing earth rays at all. The molecules of the permanent atmos-
pheric gases, oxygen and nitrogen, scatter sun rays more and more
powerfully toward the violet end of the spectrum. But what is thus
lost to the direct solar beam comes to us almost wholly in the beauti-
ful blue rays of the sky. Dust also scatters sun rays, but without
much selection of color. A dusty sky is therefore nearly white.
Sunset and sunrise owe their beautiful colors to the scattering of sun
rays by the atmosphere. When the sun is near the horizon, its rays
shine very obliquely through the atmosphere and therefore by
enormously long paths. The consequence is that the powerful tend-
ency to scattering of the blue and violet rays so far depletes that
part of the spectrum that the sky light which reaches us has a yel-
low or even a red tinge. §S. P. Langley, third secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, was a profoundly interested student of
solar radiation and atmospheric absorption. He wrote:
If the observation of the amount of heat the sun sends the earth is among
the most important and difficult in astronomical physics, it may also be termed
the fundamental problem of meteorology, nearly all whose phenomena would
become predictable, if we knew both the original quantity and kind of this
heat; how it affects the constituents of the atmosphere on its passage earth-
ward; how much of it reaches the soil; how, through the aid of the atmosphere,
it maintains the surface temperature of this planet; and how, in diminished
quantity and altered kind, it is finally returned to outer space.’
2 Langley, S. P., Report of the Mount Whitney Expedition, Prof. Pap. Signal Service,
No. 15, p. 11, 1884.
SOLAR RADIATION—-ABBOT 111
Fifty years ago Langley invented the bolometer, an exquisitely
delicate electrical thermometer sensitive to a millionth of a degree.
He took it to Mount Whitney, Calif., in 1881, to measure the rays
of the solar spectrum under the purest of skies. He also perfected
and applied a method for determining the losses suffered by solar
rays in traversing the turbid and absorbing ocean of atmosphere
which always overlies even the choicest of observing stations. With
some improvements, we still use the Langley bolometer and the
Langley method.
For the past 12 years the Smithsonian Institution has maintained
stations on high mountains in desert lands where daily measurements
of the solar radiation are made. Our best station, at Mount Monte-
zuma, Chile, 9,000 feet in altitude, lies in a desert where rain seldom
falls and where neither animal nor vegetable life can exist. The ob-
servers must bring even water itself from the town 12 miles distant.
The observations are carried on in such a way that the losses caused
by the atmosphere are determined accurately. Thus we are able to
measure the intensity of solar radiation as it would be found outside
our atmosphere altogether, as if one were on the moon, for instance.
We allow for the ellipticity of the earth’s orbit, and thus reduce the
results to a constant solar distance. Following long custom, we call
the resulting value “the solar constant of radiation.” It is on the
average 1.94 calories per square centimeter per minute.
Yet the solar-radiation intensity is not perfectly constant. It
varies through a range of several per cent. Figure 1 shows how
two of our stations, one at Montezuma, Chile, the other at Table
Mountain, Calif., agree within 0.2 per cent in tracing the variation
of it by their monthly mean results over the past five years. The
total range of variation shown by these monthly means is 1.5 per cent.
Figure 2 shows in curve A the monthly Montezuma values since 1918.
The total range in this period is 2.5 per cent. Curves C, D, E, F, G
are regular periodic curves of 68, 45, 25, 11, and 8 months whose sum,
given in curve B, almost exactly reproduces the variation shown in
the original observations given by curve A. Other shorter periods
may be found in solar variation, as indicated for the year 1924 in
curve H. I have ventured to forecast in curve I the probable march
of solar variation in the years 1931 and 1932.3
Short-interval changes are also found as shown in Figure 3. I
have indicated by curved lines, full and dotted, respectively, over 100
cases each of rising and of falling sequences extending over several
days each. The smallest ranges considered in these short-period
changes are 0.45 per cent, and the largest found is 2.5 per cent. I
have compared with these sequences the weather of Washington,
3 Footnote added January 1933: The observations of 1931 and 1932 closely verified
this prediction.
112
Williston, and Yuma.
ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The interesting result comes out that both
temperatures and barometric pressures in weather show opposite
courses depending on whether they accompany and follow rising or
i
Comparative results of monthly mean observations 5,000 miles apart at Montezuma, Chile,
The two stations agree on it within an average discrepancy of 0.2 per cent
|
PA
Ld
Fa
dE
»
x
Ee
ied
HAESEE
BaEHAR
VET
NS
rae
(929
—- re is) F. :
CN
ALA
Baa
HE
: Co a ee
das ea le
s eal Syeeaka
hal as 2a 7
ei ae a
SSE
=. See
jeeps a a
3 age See aT
aie
HY
ALY
itt
Ficurn 1.—Variation of the sun’s radiation.
A SOUND FM,
Ea 7
| - SSS
~S
te
é PayClamibiel
ese
3 See a
Sika ea
an aca
ee es ee ee
952
948
944
940
936
932
92
924
and Table Mountain, Calif.
falling solar radiation. This is
shown for Washington weather
in Figure 4. Apparently major
changes in weather are caused by
small fluctuations in the solar
radiation.
If this is so, we ought to expect
that the regular periodicities which
are proved by Figure 2 to com-
prise the principal solar changes
since 1918 ought to be reflected
in the weather. In Figure 5 one
may see that this is indeed so.
The principal changes in Wash-
ington temperatures since 1918
are represented as the sum of
six regular periodicities, of which
five are those found in the solar
radiation. This gives us hope that
weather may be susceptible to
long-range forecasting. It would,
indeed, be a great boon if the
characteristics of coming seasons
and years could thus be approxi-
mately known in advance. But
much further study must be made
before this hope can be thoroughly
tested.
We see from these exhibits that
solar variation is of two types, the
long range and the short range,
respectively. Two kinds of causes
probably are involved. The long
periods of 68, 45, 25, 11, and 8
months are closely related to the
well-known interval of 1114 years
in which the numbers of sun spots
wax and wane. This suggests that
these longer-range periodicities are
due to increasing and decreasing
agitation in the gaseous fluid
113
SOLAR RADIATION—ABBOT
HI OAdnNo ‘FZGL Ul punoz YSus[ JazIOGS JO S[BoIpOMeaq ‘J IAINd “ysvoa1O0F
ZEGL PUB TEGL Sivek ONT, “VY eAAMO [BUTSixo0 oy} sfe[[vavd AJasoyjo q eAdnD UL Uns JUL “OD A ‘a ‘qd ‘DO SesAand Ul UMOYS ‘syyUOUL g PUR ‘TT
‘ez ‘ef ‘GQ JO SaIoIpotised O}UL pozATeUE ‘OSGT 07 STGT ‘Sen[Va }UBISMOD-avIOS UvoUE ATYJUOPT “UWOLZLMVA ABlOS UL SefpfolpOhtead—@ GAAOLy
apace J Sex Cae
SEAS | Aer,
PNA PS rer afiVannviae
(nig Ligue Ape Ree’
Ra BSSP8 S88 Ce See ee See SRuESE>SERESSErCEAURSECaE= ‘
Bisel Beal Pr PPeeine PEPE Pe ere ere
psy) CGE ae Rs a a NT TS SVs! I
agnane ade Lace stcnasEs@cnclenAae een cmeacic
Sasreuunnauesas PCAN pee Bb TEESE ES Sri asicle
SUS Se Sa BSS=-seRR SSS aS eEEh=aa ae Seeeeea.
ans PREECE EEE Sari SG eae al aac coe aa"
a Uevses222 Snhlleoo 2 ==2sscoen Some Rie,
eae e qe [iia EeeaEIR SESSReeReessseR Saeeaoe a
SR Sac! PPS ere nesses NISC SeSeseess
SEBEL Wh ama BeGRees oe
aan cea an Bees stem
| Sachi a Aas Onan Saw peer iE i
ubeaada scupne ay, we lA AY na on
isis SRA Pac SE cineca wT ce
co Se aae ae ne eure ieee uceeeoe a AE
UT ~ £26) @26t €26) 7 288i 126) oe!
114 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
which composes the sun. It is to be regarded like the stirring
of a fire with a poker, which brings up from below the hotter
materials, and throws out temporarily a greater radiation in our
rooms.
Da
vo
Lom!
Gm
= 08
3 = e B ~{E
—=}--= ee 5 e
3 = = = a
F . : & h
é =4 t= E = oe
= -t: ag
= =o = ao | oa
= aR es me OR“ Sa so) as
2 ~ cé
—e= = = Sie aH
3 fa = a4 + go le
| = ow wie ous
a = = ve |
3) es = tits z oo
be $$ 2 —_ See =n as = a
5 = 2 83 | am wo
z 2 5 Sallie
i= oS en ee, SS Se So cota hates ee
i Sie eI e ee awe oG — fae]
ms Ee aa ee | a Le ae = z aa q
a ie Sec. 1 °
al — 2 1 w
: ' é
= = ijap
a se ~ = ee HON est te)
5 = s. °
Ge = H gs
a «SS ‘ n 8
==
5 : ow
E) — =A gw 1)
4 Sse = 3 io
d = wo
& << BZ2zs
Ey =o a8
<n = a ns vo
= 2 Sng
Bi = Bee
z = ia a5
red eae © ‘a oo
i ae = oop
<== Ben =)
Se = LETS,
w N nN i) Cai hey at
ss) ee o = = o| A Ay =
=i {| ae Ao
Py
a Se=aL-)
e = = q
3 = @ p, a3
Pa “ ta aoe
a) - Lo
& ae oa
= a ~~ S
HI :
2 a = ou be
3 = = ay foe
el 7 Lo}
& cS ei % i)
<s Fae Fe) >= - 2+
= os
= =e 8 a =
CT ee 2 se) = hs)
eo) = Hm
3 ros ty
; = uw
ES > ga
4
| = 3 an
ae] = mM = a
te = ies | ns
i f |
@ =e cay
= <* = = mH
= a
a ar = i) 3
< B= a — i=) nN (o}
Se ; = — = oOn
=
& 3 a 3 4 3 23 3 $3 3 g 3 3 223 8 8 2 2 a
The short-period changes of solar radiation, which run their
courses in a few days, are probably caused in other ways. We may
suppose that patches of increased or diminished radiating power
form occasionally on the solar surface. An example of this, indeed,
is often seen in the bright faculae which surround sun spots. On the
other hand, there may be areas of diminished intensity above the sun
115
ABBOT
SOLAR RADIATION
0 Si )
-8110) SOAINI po}JOP PUL [NJ ay} Woosyoq uorqysoddo ay} a0N
ATAATJOOdSoI ‘WOTJLIPCA ALTOS Bul[Vy puv Ssurstt 0, Surpuods
‘savak UodAdS JO poled ¥v JO S}[NSad BSVIOAB OIG OIOY UOATS s}[Nsoa
eq “§ MNS yy UL UMOYS ssuByd ABlLOS Jo soouenboes SUIMO]T[OJ PUB YIIM pdo}eLDOssv sednssoid pue soinjesoduma} UOJSUIYSVAA—"F WUNDI YT
ae N a
h
x1 | PK vancaaiin BE Sales.
HA SESH Ja SS e ene
Fala lie ee)
ey O01 =
S aeeeeeee ce
Fe PIP cl
Ousz SAvo
sounss3ed
BEy 2 SBBB/G SUE R/ GEC Ne
Span eS AEP" Gin Hay a
beane NaaeMiNaNg NSEC! cr
= NBER aNap ABER SED” NRE
Hise Boer wate ab
SStenor rc oresee eres.
aie Goib Balac se ae able aie?
POSEN ORICA IZEK CII
PET NOLS Se
CON SCCIACCE
SES Gan\S 2082 SREB) NERO
SSKERRePS2ENE GRRE SERE
HESSEN TCR ECAC eet
VAMer cen e eee aac
acl Veeco isa Maciel ee ce ee
SPREE Hel nrissrircie sees
NDEENECL ELSE oe Nigar
S4GBn250//SSREEEED AER 400)
SUSRERBER@ENG7 aN 4000 tt
awe cic Ba a
Beare siaie
meek a
PEEING BCCEZNT
mney 2a me
ENGan al
S3uNivy3dN3i
14657133
ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
116
SUOLJBAIASO UOT} VIPBA-AVJOS WOAJ SUPJSvooIOJ JOYIBOM OSuvA-Suo[ Aoy edoy [Vol B o}VdIpUT S}[NSOL aSoUT “V
JAIND [BUISIIO oy} Spor[eavd ATYSNoA | PAINo Uy UNS ATEYT, “sq}UOM g PUv ‘TT ‘ST ‘ez ‘ep ‘gg JO soppforpotsed yuosoidera YY ‘DN ‘A ‘MH ‘a
‘4 SOAIND “Z ANS] Ul UMOYS UOT}VIPV ALOS UP seT}ToIPOPod of} WTA PezBloosse aiInjVIIdUI9} UOSUIYSBAA UP Sol} tpor4aq—'s Zee
ERS ER EE poe
ie Reale ARS eer eset er oie
lg PCa lng 2 =a d= SSG,
i Cie i lS a ld eS
pears Fe Eee FORT oie ay ai eagle
ifs ean ne ni NS EEA OSI
Pet ne ea
sk 0s Le ko ea |e
OS I,
sa SE ese] sees pec SR ee
Eset Ls Pal ll
EA | eae eee Pag
Fes Se oe rain ARETE Se Se EES |
GRO eer scree a ec isriaier
oOUINRE OSES Oe By CU ee ie Oi Ce
CS A A DP TAS I
PA UME REESE i
9 a ew
“NYC “NVC PSL el
SOLAR RADIATION—ABBOT 117
spots due to the outrush of gases from within the sun and their
consequent cooling by expansion as they reach elevations of dimin-
ished pressure. If in either of these ways local irregularities occur
in the sun’s surface brightness, the complete solar rotation which
takes place in about four weeks must present these fluctuating in-
tensities toward the earth in their turns, and so produce short-inter-
val variations of the solar constant of radiation.
There is another variation of solar radiation, not periodic, but ex-
ceptionally interesting to theorists, as it throws light on the sun’s
inner nature. I refer to the difference of brightness between the
edge and the center of the solar disk. Figure 6 illustrates this obser-
vation and shows how different is the phenomenon when viewed in
differently colored rays. In the ultra-violet, the sun’s center appears
about three times as bright as its edge, while in the infra-red the edge
BricHTNess DistRIBUTION ALone Sun's DIAMETER
For DIFFERENT CoLors
Inrra-ReD InFRA-RED R ' ‘Brue-Green ULTRA-VIOLET
A= 1,554 A=-98Eu aa. 5OSu A= 37M
Figure 6.—Contrast of brightness between center and edge of the sun’s disk as seen in
different colors. From Smithsonian observations
is almost as bright as the center. A great deal of theoretical investi-
gation has been based on exact measurements of these phenomena,
which have been carried out in the years 1913 to 1920 by Smith-
sonian observers on Mount Wilson, Calif. This study is also asso-
ciated with the determination of the distribution of brightness as
between different wave lengths in the solar spectrum. Smithsonian
observers have determined this as shown by Figure 7.
The study of the dependence of plant growth on radiation has
lately been taken up by the new division of radiation and organisms
at the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. In order to have a
better control of radiation intensity and hours of exposure than clouds
and night would permit if solar rays alone were employed, we use
mainly electrical lamps of special construction; the results will be
applicable to the understanding of plant growth under natural
conditions.
The essence of the problem lies in this, that plants grow by taking
in carbonic-acid gas from the air through millions of little mouths
called stomata which dot the under surfaces of the leaves. But this
feeding occurs only when certain rays found in sunlight and other
sources shine upon the plants. The questions are: Which are the
118 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
effective rays? What differences are created in plant growth when
the rays are changed either in color, in intensity, or in time of
exposure per day? What are the chemical processes which go on
in the laboratories of the plant leaves by which cellulose, sugars,
odoriferous materials, fruit and nut substances, poisons, and the host
of organic chemicals which plants produce are built up? Finally,
how does radiation cause plants to bend in those interesting ways
illustrated by the sunflower and nasturtium, and by the twining stalks
of the beans and peas?
All of these questions are being studied at the Smithsonian Insti-
tution. The investigation is stil young, so that little as yet has been
published. Plate 1 and Figure 8, however, give some idea of the
fC a a sed Ri Se
ESB RAS 2
slddlsg
Bs bs
Intensity
ag 0.5 0.7 3
fe t l. I. 1
Wave LENGTH
FicurE 7.—Wave length and intensity in the solar spectrum. Smithsonian observations
ingenious apparatus and interesting work which have been developed
already under the direction of Dr. F. 8. Brackett. I will but mention
the phototropic experiments in which a little oat sprout is being used
as an indicator. It is situated between two lights of different colors,
whose intensities may be graduated until the oat sprout grows ver-
tically. Then, of course, the two lights are equal in their tendencies
to produce bending. It is found that green is one thousand times
more active than yellow, and blue thirty times more active than green
to produce bending. Red and intra-red are like darkness, having no
bending influence at all.
Another very promising line of investigation is that illustrated in
Figure 8. Pure organic chemicals such as benzene, chlorobenzene,
and others of greater and greater complexity are introduced in a
spectroscope between the source of light and the recording thermopile
SOLAR RADIATION—-ABBOT 119
which automatically measures the spectrum energy. Absorption
effects are produced on the infra-red rays. ‘These effects are found
to be characteristic for each chemical studied. In this way we are
building up a system of organic chemical! analysis, whereby chemical
structure can be determined without making combustions. It is yet
uncertain how powerful this method will eventually prove, but we
hope it will throw much light on the abstruse reactions of plant
growth under the influence of radiation.
a 4
FARADICHLORBENZENE
FARRD/IBROM BENZENE
FARADIIODOBENZENE
'
16m hi
Ficurb 8.—Absorption spectra of benzene derivatives. Observed under the direction
of Dr. F. S. Brackett, Smithsonian Institution
Plate 2 shows an experimental cooking plant which I erected at
the Smithsonian station on Mount Wilson. Sun rays falling upon
the great concave cylindric mirror, 7 by 12 feet in surface, and moved
by clockwork to follow the sun, are reflected upon a blackened brass
tube incased by a vacuum-glass jacket. Within the tube, which lies
parallel to the earth’s axis, is high-test engine cylinder oil. It
grows hot, expands, and rises up into a reservoir containing about
60 gallons of oil. Two ovens for cooking are inserted in this reser-
voir of hot oil. A return tube from its bottom completes the circula-
tory system, bringing cooler oil to be heated by the mirror. For
120 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
weeks at a time on Mount Wilson, the ovens remained hot enough to
bake bread both day and night. Al kinds of cooking except frying
and broiling are readily done with this solar cooker. The kitchen
where food is prepared remains cool, and the housewife has a
delightful view of the mountains as she steps out to place it in the
ovens. The apparatus is too costly to be anything but a luxury.
The most successful solar power installation thus far made was
located near Cairo in Egypt, and was used to pump water from the
Nile for irrigation. A -description of it is given in the Smithsonian
Report for 1915. The principle is the same as that just illustrated in
the solar cooker, but vacuum jackets were not introduced to enhance
the heating.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Abbot PLATE 1
PLANTS GROWING UNDER CONTROLLED LIGHT, HUMIDITY, AND TEMPERATURE,
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTICN
NOILNLILSN] NVINOSHLINS ‘LNOYUdS LVYO JO SNIGNSAG SOldOYeLOLOHd ONINNSVAW
2 ALlVv1d I9qqY—'7¢6] “Woda ueruosyyrUG
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Abbot PLATE 3
~~
£
ABBOT’S SOLAR COOKER ON MOUNT WILSON, CALIF.
VARIABLE STARS?
By Dr. L. V. Ropinson
Astronomer, Harvard College Observatory
The layman who has casually observed that the Big Dipper is
always a dipper regardless of its position in the sky may also have
noticed that all the stars appear to keep the same positions relative
to one another. Im general, the only exceptions are the planets.
The layman, from somewhat hurried glances, may also be inclined to
think that all the stars remain unchanged in brightness. If he could
observe the stars a few thousand years hence, however, he would be
convinced that “ the stars do move,” and a few days or weeks of con-
tinuous observation would also show changes in brightness of many
of the brighter stars. The sun shares the motions of the other stars;
in fact, it is dragging our little earth through space with a velocity
of 12 miles per second relative to the other stars; but we move at
a very slow rate compared with some of the suns, which are so far
away in space that we call them stars.
The reason why the stars do not appear to move is that they are so
exceedingly far away. Even the nearest is 275,000 times as far away
as the sun is from us (that is 275,000 X 92,900,000 miles), and hght
from this star does not reach us until it has been on its journey four
and one-third years. Light from the sun reaches us after a short
journey of only eight minutes. By the way of contrast, it is said that
the sensation of a burn travels so slowly relative to the speed of
light, that an infant with an arm long enough to reach the sun
would live his allotted time of three score and ten years and die
in ripe old age before learning that his fingers had been burned.
But what of the brightness of all these far-away suns? By actu-
ally measuring their distances, astronomers can compare the bright-
ness of each one with that of the sun. The intrinsically brightest
star now known Is one that is apparently associated with the great
Magellanic Clouds of the southern sky. At maximum brightness
this star, S Doradus, is half a million times as bright as our sun
and, according to the theory of relativity in which mass and light
1 Reprinted by permission, with author’s alterations, from The Scientific Monthly, vol.
34, pp. 343-350, April, 1932.
121
2 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
energy are interchangeable, the light radiated in one second weighs
more than 2,000,000,000,000 tons. It represents one class of stars
known as “ variables,” on account of their variation in brightness.
Among the variables, S Doradus is probably related to the subclass
which the astronomer calls novae.
Within the earliest records of man the first star observed to vary
in brightness was indeed a nova in the constellation Scorpius and
was discovered by the Greek astronomer, Hipparchus, 134 years be-
fore Christ. This star, which appeared very suddenly as a dazzling
bright object where one had not before been seen, aroused the curiosity
of Hipparchus and undoubtedly prompted him to compile the first
catalogue of star positions, by reference to which the appearance of
any new star, or the disappearance of any of those which he had
already observed and catalogued, could be established.
The outstanding peculiarity of novae is that they manifest a sud-
den outburst in brightness and then gradually fade away, becoming
invisible to the unaided eye after a few weeks. The second known
star of this kind, a nova in Cassiopeia, was observed first by Tycho
Brahe, a Danish astronomer, in 1572. When Tycho first saw it,
this star was among the very brightest in the sky; within a few days
it grew still brighter so that it could be seen even in daytime without
the use of a telescope. When the planet Venus is at its brightest,
it is possible to observe it in the daytime, provided we know in what
part of the sky to look, but Tycho’s star is said to have been even
brighter, notwithstanding the fact that Venus approaches us as
closely as 26,000,000 miles, whereas most novae are probably hun-
dreds of millions times as distant.
In recent years a more careful watch has been kept over the stars;
in fact at Harvard, the whole sky is photographed many times in the
course of a year’s work. Also more peop!e know the constellations
and recognize very quickly the presence of any new bright star
where previously none had appeared. As a result, known examples
of novae have increased fairly rapidly in recent years. The bright-
est of the recent ones appeared in 1918 in the constellation of Aquila.
In less than a week the normal brightness of this star increased
nearly 70,000 times, and on June 8 it was exceeded in brightness
by only one other star, Sirius.
Aside from the telescope, no instrument has been more useful
to the astronomer than the spectroscope. In its simplest form the
spectroscope is nothing more than a finely polished glass prism
through which light from a star, or from any other source, is allowed
to pass. In passing through the prism the blue rays are always
bent more than the red, depending upon wave length, so that ordi-
nary “ white light” is separated into all the colors of the rainbow.
VARIABLE STARS—ROBINSON 123
These colors projected on a screen back of the prism constitute a
“spectrum ” whose general structure depends upon the nature and
the source of the incident hght. In the case of ordinary starlight,
where a cooler atmosphere surrounds the source, very narrow widths
of light are apparently missing, thus giving rise to a dark-line spec-
trum, the relative positions of the lines depending upon the chem-
ical elements and conditions of temperature and pressure in the
source of light, thereby revealing important data on the stars and
their atmospheres. It may also happen that all the spectral lines may
be shifted toward the red or toward the violet end of the spectrum.
Wave lengths from a given source are all shortened by motion
toward the observer for the reason that the observer meets more
waves per second than he would were he at rest relative to the source.
This shortening of wave lengths indicating motion toward the ob-
server accounts for the shift toward the violet end of the spectrum
constituting the shorter wave lengths, and conversely a shift toward
the red indicates motion away from the observer. Thus the obser-
ver is able to distinguish motions of the stars in the line of sight
and to measure their velocities. This fact alone is a very important
one in the study of variable stars and of the very close double star
systems, called spectroscopic binaries.
From the spectra of novae the astronomer is able to detect the
presence of gases rushing out from these stars with velocities as
high as 1,200 miles per second. We are led to conclude, therefore,
that the great increase in brightness of these stars is due partly to
an increase in diameter caused by some kind of explosion. The fre-
quency of these explosions suggests to us that possibly similar dis-
turbances occur within every star, at least once in its lifetime. If so,
what warning are we to have of the approach of an explosion of
the sun? The sun is only a star among the 30,000 million others
which astronomers believe are in our Milky Way system. Why then
should it be the exception to the other stars? What if it should
explode? We frequently see spots on the sun large enough to hold
our little earth; we might therefore be justified in concluding that
in a solar conflagration, similar to that which apparently takes place
in a nova, the earth would disappear almost instantaneously.
As a representative of a second type of variable there is none bet-
ter than Mira, the Wonderful, a star in the constellation of Cetus,
which changes continuously in brightness, reaching a maximum and
minimum periodically. The variations of Mira were first seen by the
Dutch astronomer, Fabricus, in 1596; a star of moderate bright-
ness appeared where one had not previously been seen. In a few
weeks it had faded away and it was therefore thought to be a nova,
until the year 1638 when it was seen again by another Dutch astron-
124 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
omer, Holwarda, who observed that it appeared and disappeared
within a period of about 11 months. To the telescopic observer this
star does not actually disappear, but when it is faintest it gives only
about one per cent of the visual light which it gives when it is
brightest. Since the time of Fabricius and Holwarda, the number of
recognized stars of this type has increased, especially during the last
few years, until now our catalogues contain about two thousand
other examples.
All of the stars of this type are more or less red and appear to be
among the coolest stars in the sky. In their outer layers at least,
they apparently vary in temperature and in color as well as in
luminosity, but the highest temperature exhibited by a variable of
this type never exceeds that of a very hot furnace, while many of
the blue stars show temperatures ten times as high. Among the
giant stars, in general, low temperatures and large diameters are
very closely correlated and are thought to be characteristic of the
earliest stages of a star’s development. The enormous size of Mira
is illustrative, probably, of all long-period variable stars. If the
sun were placed at the center, inside the body of Mira, and the dis-
tance (92,900,000 miles) between the sun and its companion the
earth were unchanged, the earth would be several million miles be-
low the surface of the star. Not only the earth, but Mars, which is
50 per cent farther away from the sun than the earth, would be
beneath the surface of this giant star.
At the level which we call the surface of Mira, the constituent
gases are much rarer than those composing the atmosphere of the
earth, 50 miles above its surface; in fact, they are in a rarer condi-
tion than can be duplicated by exhausting the air of a vessel with the
best air-pump yet constructed. The rarity of the gases at the sur-
face of this star is due to the smallness of the gravitational pull
which varies inversely as the square of the diameter. A man weigh-
ing 200 pounds on the earth would weigh less than 4 ounces at the
surface of Mira, were it possible to weigh him with spring balances
in each case. On the small dwarf star circling about Sirius, by way
of further contrast, this man weighed by the same method would
weigh no less than 3,000 tons, whereas on our sun he would weigh
only 5,500 pounds, or somewhat less than 3 tons!
In many ways the class of variable stars to which Mira belongs,
ordinarily called long-period variables, is closely related to another
type known to astronomers as Cepheid variables. The earliest ob-
served type of this class is Delta Cephei, discovered by Goodricke
in 1784. These stars are not so red as the long-period variables, and
their periods of variation extend from a few hours to about 70 days,
whereas the periods of long-period variables range from about 100
125
VARIABLE STARS—ROBINSON
days to about 2 years. Furthermore, the range of variation in
brightness is, in general, much less in the case of Cepheids than in
some Mira-type stars where the brightness at maximum is 50,000
times that at minimum. Astronomers believe, however, that Ce-
pheids are related to long-period variables because a correlation
between redness and period, which has been noted among Cepheids,
can also be extended to the long-period variables. The Cepheid
variables and those of long period are generally believed to be
pulsating—that is, both
classes may owe their
changes in brightness part-
ly or wholly to periodic
expansions and_ contrac-
tions of the gases compos-
ing them. There are some
astronomers, however, who
believe that the variations
in luminosity of the Ceph-
eids are due to rotation
and to their peculiar
shapes. It is claimed that
they are pear-shaped and
eventually break up into
two stars. Each theory has
its objections, and much
more work remains to be
CEPHEID
done before the matter can
be considered as settled.
Figure 1 illustrates how a
Cepheid may divide into a
binary system.
The question, “ What are
BINARY SYSTEM
Ficurm i1.—The transition of a binary system
from a Cepheid
According to the Jeans theory, the transition
from the Cepheid stage may be the result of con-
traction. Thus R,; and R2 decrease to R’; and
R’s, respectively. In the first case the sum of
R, and Re is greater than the distance from
5 3 s A to B, and in the second it is less.
Cepheid variables?” is
hardly more interesting than the question, “ What are they good for,
astronomically?” In fact, solving the latter question has served
astronomical advancement to a far greater extent probably than any
other research which has been pursued in many years. It happens
that in certain star clouds and clusters many Cepheid variables are
found. In studying the variables in the Magellanic Clouds, Miss
Leavitt, at Harvard, discovered that a relation exists between the pe-
riods of variation and the apparent brightness of these stars: The
longer the period, the brighter is the star—the so-called period-lumi-
nosity relation. Since all the stars in the Magellanic Clouds are at
very nearly the same distance from the earth, it can also be demon-
126 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
strated that a relation exists between period and actual or absolute
brightness. In other words, if we know the actual brightness of one
Cepheid variable, then we can compute the distance of any other
star of this type, once its period and apparent brightness are known.
This is equivalent to saying that we must know the “ zero point ” of
the period-luminosity relation in order to use it effectively. The
zero point is determined from the apparent motions of the stars,
since those nearest to us appear to move the fastest; hence the dis-
tance and therefore the brightness of an average star may be known.
This important relation be-
tween brightness and period
is illustrated in Figure 2.
The period-luminosity re-
lation proved to be the key
that unlocked one of the
secrets of the universe. The
ie ete ae a ie a key was immediately seized
in ial cy a by a young astronomer at
400 Mount Wilson Observatory,
eam and soon we knew the dis-
tances of all the far-away
clouds in which the telescope
revealed the presence of
Cepheid variables whose pe-
Horizontal axis is period in days, and verti- riods could be determined.
cal axis is intrinsic luminosity in terms of sun’s This young astronomer was
brightness. The zero point is fixed when it is 2 f
known, for example, that the average Cepheid Di Harlow Shapley, the
with a period of two days is 200 times as bright — present director of Harvard
Bee be College Observatory.
The enormous brightness of Cepheids favors their use as yard-
sticks in measuring the size of the universe. The faintest of these
stars, the so-called cluster-type Cepheids, are intrinsically about a
hundred times as bright as our sun; consequently one of these stars
can be seen when it is ten times as far away as a star of the bright-
ness of our sun. The brightest representatives of the Cepheid class,
which are about 10,000 times the brightness of the sun, can be seen
at vastly greater distances. The huge 100-inch Mount Wilson tele-
scope shows stars which give less than one-millionth the amount of
light of the faintest stars visible to the unaided eye, and conse-
quently with it one sees stars over a thousand times more distant.
In fact, Cepheids on the outskirts of our universe and among the
great star clouds of the Milky Way system are visible in the Mount
Wilson telescope. The farther cluster of stars measured by Shapley
6 32 DAYS
Figure 2.—The period-luminosity relation
VARIABLE STARS—ROBINSON £27
was so far away that light received from the members was over
200,000 years old; or, the cluster is said to be 200,000 light years
distant. In the opposite direction, clusters were observed at distances
of the order of 100,000 light years. For the first time in the history
of astronomy investigators could say definitely that the universe had
been sounded, and that its diameter was so large that 300,000 years
were required for light to traverse it. Yet only a short time later,
Hubble, at Mount Wilson, began to count variable stars, such as
Cepheids and novae, by the dozens in the Andromeda nebula, iden-
tifying it as a great collection of stars, sometimes called an “ Island
Universe.” Thus he was able to measure distances more than three
times as large as those previously determined. From this great col-
lection of stars, which to the unaided eye appears as a hazy spot in
the sky, nearly one million years is required for light to reach us.
Some idea of the distance of this far-away cloud of stars can be
gained when it is recalled that light from the sun reaches us in
only eight minutes (fig. 3).
The variable stars hitherto discussed are all intrinsically variable
and in this way differ from the class of objects represented by Algol
and Beta Lyrae. Algol, or Beta Persei, may have been recognized as
a variable by the Arabs, since it was called by them a/ Ghul, or the
demon, possibly on account of its apparent capricious drops in lumi-
nosity. The first historical evidence of its variability, however,
seems to rest with Montanari, who noticed its variability in 1669,
without attempting any careful study of the star. It was observed
again in 1782 by a young Englishman, John Goodricke, a deaf mute,
who not only determined its period of variation but also correctly
suggested the cause. Beta Lyrae was discovered two years later by
Pigot, a friend of Goodricke. Each of the two systems just men-
tioned owes its variability to periodic eclipses by the component star.
In the case of Algol, one of the components is faint relative to the
other, which is called the primary, whereas in the case of Beta
Lyrae both components are approximately of the same brightness
and relatively much closer together than the components of Algol.
In fact, for many systems of the Beta Lyrae type, the components,
which are generally of the same brightness, are very nearly in actual
contact. The range of periods of eclipsing stars, including those of
the Algol and Beta Lyrae types, agrees very clesely with ae range
of periods of Cepheids. The amount of change in brightness is also
about equal to that of Cepheids. For eclipsing stars, the amount of
change depends upon the relative brightness of the two components
of the system and upon the orientation of the plane in which they
revolve to the line of sight.
128 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
It is clear that eclipsing stars constitute a very special selection
among double stars: They are those systems where one star passes
in front of the other and cuts off a part or all of its light, in much
the same way that the moon cuts off the light of the sun when a solar
TAURUS
AURIGA
°
SAGITTARIUS °
°
SCORPIUS °
Cc
FIGURE 3.—Distribution of globular clusters
Plane of paper is plane of milky way; large concentric circles represent distances
from sun (at center of diagram), the unit being 25,000 light-years; the center of
the milky way system is represented by a cross. Small circles represent globular
clusters; farthest cluster is too far away to appear on the diagram.
eclipse occurs. They constitute only a part of those close doubles
which to the unaided eye or in the telescope appear as single stars.
There are other systems whose components revolve in planes so
oriented relative to the line of sight that no eclipse can occur. These
are the spectroscopic binaries, the duplicity of which is revealed from
VARIABLE STARS—-ROBINSON 129
analyses of the light received from them by means of the spectro-
scope. Still more complicated are those systems which the telescope
shows as double or multiple, where one or more components of the
visual system are in reality spectroscopic binaries. Thus, the astron-
omer is able to discover that what appears as a single star to the
unaided eye is in some cases a complex system of stars revolving
about their centers of gravity, with periods from a fraction of a day
to hundreds or even thousands of years. Such a system is Castor,
the fainter member of Gemini, the twins. In this instance the tel-
escope shows two bright stars exceedingly close together where the
eye only sees what appears to be a single star. These two stars
revolve about each other with a period of about 350 years. The third
and fainter member of this same system is found a little farther
away revolving about the common center of gravity probably with
a period of more than a thousand years. Each of these three stars
is a spectroscopic binary, so that in reality we have six stars be-
longing to a system where the unaided eye would see a single bright
star. It is estimated that of all the stars in the sky, one of every
three or four is a double or a multiple system. This is only one bit
of evidence suggesting gregarious tendencies among the stars.
Astronomers believe that the distinction between visual telescopic
double stars and the class of eclipsing and spectroscopic binaries is
more real than apparent. Members of the former class have periods
measured in years while those of the latter class, with a few ex-
ceptions, have their periods restricted below 100 days. But why the
difference? This is one of the questions of modern astronomy. Un-
less the universe is very much older than we believe it to be, near
approaches and captures are not frequent enough to account for the
large number of visual and telescopic doubles even if, under such
circumstances, captures are possible. Serious doubts indeed arise if
we assume that capture of one star by another may result at all from
near approach. Probably the best suggestion is that visual doubles
result from condensations about two separate nuclei in an early nebu-
lar stage of evolution. The revolution of one star about another,
with reference to spectroscopic and eclipsing binaries as well as to
visual doubles, is not more strange than the much more general fact
now established by modern astronomy, that all the stars of the Milky
Way system are revolving about their common center of gravity.
To carry this idea further, it must also be concluded that visual and
telescopic binaries were formed at a time when the Milky Way
system was yet young and when all the stars were closer together
than at present. At least we now see no evidence of the formation of
such systems,
130 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The question of the origin of eclipsing and spectroscopic binaries,
according to some astronomers, has a close connection with the ques-
tion of interrelationships of the different classes of variable stars:
Jeans has proposed the theory that all variable stars are rotating and
that when the period of rotation becomes sufficiently rapid, as in the
case of the short-period Cepheids, the stars can no longer hold
themselves together—a hypothesis known as the fission theory. If
then a Cepheid is the parent of a binary system, how are we to prove
it? Astronomical questions rarely lend themselves to direct proof,
unfortunately, but any clue serves as a valuable bit of evidence either
for or against a theory in question. We have evidence for extending
the connecting links between long-period and Cepheid variables to
eclipsing and spectroscopic binaries as well. We may mention: (1)
There are spectroscopic evidences indicating rotation of Cepheids
about their respective centers of gravity; (2) the mean densities of
Cepheids are approximately what we should expect of two embryo
stars in actual contact; (3) the mean radii of Cepheids compare
favorably with the separation of the components of short-period
binary systems; (4) slight evidences of correlations of colors and
brightnesses of short-period binaries with Cepheids are to be found;
(5) the agreement of periods is as good as can be expected; and (6)
the space distributions of the two classes of objects compare favor-
ably.
Of these arguments the first must carry considerable weight. By
means of the spectroscope it has been found that motion of the star
or of some part of it toward the observer is greatest at maximum
light or shortly thereafter. It is also believed from the evidences
now available that the star is hottest at maximum light, approxi-
mately. Both can not be true of a pulsating star; mathematical
analysis involving considerations of luminosity, radius, and tem-
perature shows that the star should be neither expanding nor con-
tracting, or in other words, it shows that the velocity in the line of
sight should be zero at maximum light, provided that the tempera-
ture is hottest at about this time, as is generally believed. On the
other hand, however, either of the two systems in Figure 1 should
show greatest velocity of approach at maximum lght if maximum
light is to be associated with maximum visible surface. To agree
with observations, the part of the Cepheid from which most of the
light apparently comes at this moment should also be hottest, and
consequently a very unequal temperature distribution over its sur-
face is demanded on the basis of the fission theory. It is evident
therefore, that although most of the above six arguments are neces-
sary conditions to substantiate a fission theory such as that of Jeans,
they are not sufficient; they prove nothing.
VARIABLE STARS—-ROBINSON Wash
Arguments against the theory are also serious and difficult to meet.
About the only alternative left for the fission theory proponent is to
ask: What are the ancestors of this class of binary stars? Equally
well may one ask the same question with regard to all double star
systems. For the visual and telescopic doubles, however, the above
conditions are neither necessary nor sufficient, and by no one is any
relationship claimed between these stars and any class of variables.
In our own galactic system the total number of known variable
stars given by the 1932 edition of Prager’s catalogue is 5,461, about
a large percentage of which nothing is known. A relatively large
percentage of the remainder belongs to classes of irregular or semi-
regular stars which may be intermediate between the various classes
of periodic variables. We know practically nothing about these
stars, since they demand series of observations more continuous than
those now available. It is quite possible also that continuous series
of observations made on all classes of variables would shed much
light on the peculiarities and the causes of their variations which
have hitherto escaped our attention.
Not only the professional astronomer but the amateur, likewise,
can assist in answering astronomical questions. The part of the
amateur astronomer is most strikingly manifested by the great work
of the American Association of Variable Star Observers, composed
of about 850 members working in this country and abroad, who in
the course of a year report more than 25,000 observations on vari-
able stars to its recorder, Mr. Leon Campbell, of Harvard College
Observatory. By this organization more than a third of a million
observations have been made on 500 variable stars, mostly of long
period, and for the peculiar variable SS Cygni not a single maxi-
mum brightness during the last 35 years has escaped their notice.
Besides this enormous program, a huge amount of variable star work
is done at Harvard College Observatory by temporary employees
who have other lines of activity and who do not claim to be profes-
sional astronomers. ‘The field is a large one, and thus far we believe
that we have done little more than penetrate the surfaces of the
associated problems.
149571—33 10
rl stbin ds €h pre Sendhalnc ed
gta, oldisob, die, ot) hxsnee ain pe i
aul oeld | iw preritheieal dato: diejooeel ak dean: ies vei ped?
erie AN OM nONG TA) anita iites tos iter 10H Reo TR cathy
Spivariey tn geal ‘cite, ing: iam sxacl ts SSoeeee ihe stare
ay ods oe net ey Dobe tik a baits laos are Tt pat el war tui Hae
owrh aahendinte tol occa wares irgahiver: cisbichateponslespegiae:
Stipe 49 valet the ate este get peer jobrlamnmnads t ‘ patric
rigido.chottae sth sep sk aaibazara tiled: ‘pith ‘Wider anaetonvisity yr
foie isodAqwmiiiods peshtsgionam eit Saline: eeleag
ThE conn sien enOLtioede: to aeinoa bn gotabnpe dd Sesrte4 ites
Oita chotmitdéotudl oabe gidivhecy obiery: ala <heldedinval wort iawort
dhuner: Ler Isovtaslduipay oh adanmbondden ines: obj ae trio thas winmcor hg
(ili pe naidacis tector de eens onda bons: 251s rabiithinge wa resi “i |
: | cia ae : ceteit ines3 one hagas ‘obsarttiban a:
aie) outa ond ad intin reninnoni2ss Leradee honey ond tines soa
whi tote itl ceaddodp InonO nies. bemaEee tb lohan
dry aria iii addcgdh beteot tad wlgijalinieateons ab camo trortg v9) a
Decoys siveovdgedh) 1038 Widdia toamisdindget’ aenoitsqusils Sto
rhimie bards bore voinwoo eit. af ganliow wodinoe One seca
Bias f tenant ikevnesdts O80, 0 ctaskh: sem diaqee sR) it sation dh
e ogalioddnpyrakbote sal logy ee etbock: 2M nsiotlxabon att cases
alti. sf toobtiddts: cad) ardor) coveuscngie! iptengebe Oe
Sade. ke aaaiiet Ate iderievi 008 stove bain webd ema? ‘anoidaie ;
7 “bei oigicia in ox ida @Aokisires things) woke inane ra
, addon pias acpanes apiheraagy G8 deshoais (Quiche goatee at it a
diet, «melaklsite, to dastdie pid ofaieponepenorelia: arom:
: saolgarn yi sulin) ined ceo traeddO .embhs Or inarentbege at
| woe Adu arisio jnaoebcodw: bop tthvitah tovesed li roid
. ° 2veliedemn wteokt bm eaodyinh «ail Met ed T cdetketononeahe
nity te tend be, oHt ad pared) ibedtico te as: esas scobiersil oR ahd
P wit: baked: hewmen, atthe eh Uke fw os OR RIT batatsomli
iy ut Rpeliechy ae bam m
‘te CARIIVIN. F2 oars adhe ai
a
TL <ore Th ees | aha se) Wea cron -% iit ar eo “3 }.
or alle iat tice) vigaraniad Meas feelers bee Lie : best ne
a eer’ ay teas ae Comes mb. Cia MIG oS t ‘a BiSU> re it puts
/ ; eo y
meats qiGory IRIS DOPE can crihution were KE
é nets ta Hevcnandbedtean a adie tia fea 2c hoe be, sa
us + ‘ " . i .
: lotetciee; Koad altopaiyh meee te PAHIVe: SON. fb TH cummtyoaee eRe :
| cy wonditions to subalantiate a fimo gheory sug as think sg BTiS
.. fey aty not-oufieient ‘they t ert sey hhonge,
THE MASTER KEY OF SCIENCE: REVEALING THE
UNIVERSE THROUGH THE SPECTROSCOPE?
By Henry Norris RUSSELL
Professor of Astronomy, Princeton University
[With 2 plates]
The great French philosopher of the last century, Auguste Comte,
was an exceedingly well-informed and versatile man, but it was he
who once remarked: “There are some things of which the human
race must forever remain in ignorance; for example, the chemical
composition of the heavenly bodies.” ‘To Comte and the other intel-
ligent men of his time, this problem seemed hopelessly insoluble;
there was no way of attacking it.
Of course this statement sounds ridiculous to us now. It became
ridiculous because man’s dream came true of a master key that
would unlock many doors, one after another, and so open up many
new realms of knowledge.
That master key was the spectroscope. No sooner was it discovered
than the composition of the heavenly bodies, previously unknowable,
became an open book. With its use, many of the familiar chemical
elements were identified in the sun, and not long after, in the stars.
Later work has extended the number of elements identified in the
sun to 60, and spectroscopic study has shown that the atmosphere
of Mars contains oxygen and water vapor, while that of Venus shows
no signs of them.
All the stronger lines in the spectra of the sun and stars and a host
of the weaker ones have been identified. It has been demonstrated
that the same atoms are present. on earth that are also present in
the remotest nebulae, in the relatively cold tail of a comet, and in
the intensely heated surface of a white star. By showing these
things, the spectroscope has given the most impressive of all proofs
of the unity of nature.
This achievement has been described in poetry, as it should be,
by Edmund Clarence Stedman, in one of his more philosophical
1An address delivered at the inauguration of the spectroscopic laboratories of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Feb. 25, 1932. Reprinted by permission from
Technology Review, April, 1932,
133
134 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
poems “ Corda Concordia.” The stanza in which this is done is such
good science, as well as such good poetry, that I would like to quote
it:
White orbs like angels pass
Before the triple glass,
That men may scan the record of each flame—
Of spectral line and line
The legendry divine—
Finding their mould the same, and aye the same,
The atoms that we knew before
Of which ourselves are made—dust, and no more.
It is more than 200 years since Newton, passing his beam of light
in a darkened room through a prism, saw the rainbow-colored streak
of light upon the wall as the rays of different color were refracted
in different amount by the prism, and so was led to realize the
composite nature of white light. Unfortunately, Newton took his
light through a small round hole and he took it from the large round
sun; consequently, even if the sun had been all one color, the image
that he would have had thrown on the wall would have been like
the image that he got when it came through a pinhole in the window
shade. If only he had had the wit to set up a narrow slit so that
the image would have been sharp and not round, the master key
might have been discovered.
Just after the first half of the nineteenth century was over, Kirch-
hoff and Bunsen made that simple but fundamental mechanical
change. Really this master key was found in a narrow slit—simply
in letting your light into this prismatic instrument through a slit so
narrow that you obtained a sharply defined image. As soon as that
was done, as soon as they took the light through a narrow slit into
their prism, with an eyepiece to look at it and a couple of other lenses
to make the light go in parallel rays through the prism—the new
doors were opened and the new worlds free to conquer.
The next necessary advancement was the development of a more
delicate method of spectrum analysis. This came with Rowland, the
great Johns Hopkins physicist in the nineties. He developed an
engine for ruling diffraction gratings, the device that is used for
breaking light up into its components. The best of Rowland’s
gratings are the joy, the envy, and the despair of the investigators
to-day—the joy of the man who has one, the envy of his colleagues,
and the despair of the man who tries to make one as good. Rowland
devoted years to the study of the solar spectrum and reported and
recorded in it the position of 20,000 lines, each one carrying its own
story of some substance in the sun. When Rowland was through
his work, 36 of the chemical elements had been identified in the sun.
Since that day, of course, a number more have been added because
MASTER KEY OF SCIENCE—RUSSELL 135
plates have been developed which are sensitive to the red end of the
spectrum, and Rowland had no such plates available. Partly for
that reason, and partly because some substances are now available
of which Rowland could not get specimens, 60 chemical elements
have now been identified in the sun—most of them with certainty.
In the stars, we can not observe such immense detail as we can in
the sun, although the big spectroscopes that are now being attached
to the great refractors such as the Mount Wilson 100-inch telescope
give us an amazing amount of information, and dozens of different
chemical elements have been definitely identified in the stars.
The minute shiit in the position of the lines due to motions of
approach or recession has enabled us to detect and measure the rota-
tion of the sun and the planets, to prove that Saturn’s rings are not
solid, but composed of myriads of tiny satellites, and to get one of
the most accurate determinations of the sun’s distance. Applied to
the stars, it has determined the sun’s motion among them, the dis-
tances of hundreds of individual stars, and the average for thou-
sands more; has revealed hundreds of double stars too close to be
resolved by the telescope, and determined the masses and even the
diameters of some of them; and has disclosed those amazingly rapid
motions of the remote nebulae—some as high as 15,000 miles a sec-
ond—which point the way to new conceptions of the nature, the past,
and the future of the material universe. Spectroscopic tests have
shown that the nebulae are of two kinds, one consisting of masses of
luminous gas; the others, giving light lke stars, must themselves be
great clusters of stars at gigantic distances.
If the spectroscope has thus proved so profitable to the astronomer,
what has it accomplished for scientists in other fields?) The chemist
owes to spectroscopy the discovery of at least 10 of the elements,
some by optical methods, others more recently by the aid of X rays.
Among these is helium, which was detected in the sun and its nature
as a light gas correctly interpreted more than 20 years before it was
“run to earth.”
The classical physicist finds in the spectroscopic data his most
precise standards of length, and some of his more accurate methods
of measurement. My friend, Doctor Meggers, of the Bureau of
Standards, and his associates have developed very practical spectro-
scopy recently. Suppose, for example, you have some fusible plugs
that are used in our overhead sprinkler systems. They are made
of a fusible alloy which will be greatly damaged if it has any more
than the most minute quantity of iron in it. To find this out by
chemical analysis is a slow and tedious process; but you can take
one of these plugs and test it with the spectroscope, and if the strong
lines of iron show up, you know there is iron there. Comparative
136 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
tests with materials of different composition give you an idea of the
safe limits. Thus, with the spectroscope you can test these alloys in
a minute part of the time that chemical analysis requires.
But it is in the realm of atomic physics that spectroscopy has
played its greatest réle. Fifty years ago, Lockyer, from a study of
the spectra of electric arcs and sparks, and of the stars, concluded
that, in the spark and in the hotter stars, ordinary atoms are de-
composed into products which give different spectral lines. This
bold generalization was fully justified 40 years afterward, by the de-
velopment of the theory of ionization.
About 40 years ago, series of lines were detected in many of the
simpler spectra, and found to be representable by formulae in which
the “ Rydberg constant,” common to all spectra, appeared. Here was
evidence of some uniform feature in the constitution of the different
atoms. The Zeeman effect, according to which a spectral line emitted
by a source placed in a strong magnetic field is split up into polarized
components, again showed features common to different atoms, and
suggesting the presence within them of moving electrical charges.
The Bohr-Rutherford theory of atomic structure—with electrons in
orbital motion around a nucleus—was based very largely on these
spectroscopic data. It accounted at once for the typical spectral
series of hydrogen, and accurately predicted other series in the infra-
red and ultra-violet. With simple modifications, it explained the
more complicated system of series in the spectra of the alkalies. The
multiple character of the terms of the series was later interpreted
as a result of the spin of the electron—thus increasing the “ astronom-
ical ” resemblance of the atom-model; while the appearance of nu-
merous terms in the more complex spectra was accounted for by
differently quantized inclinations of the electron orbits. The com-
plex multiplets of lines found in the spectra were thus fully ex-
plained. In its final form (due to Hund) this theory has been
brilliantly successful in elucidating the structure of atoms and inter-
preting and even predicting the details of their spectra. Work in
this field has been very active, and only the most complex spectra
(rare earths and some heavy metals) and those of a few very rare
elements remain to be deciphered.
In the case of molecules, changes in the states of oscillation and
rotation of the nuclei, as well as in the electronic states, are possible,
and the spectra are much more intricate, consisting of complex bands
comprised of closely packed lines. Those of diatomic molecules are
now well understood—with important gains in our knowledge of
molecular structure and the nature of chemical “ affinity ”—and the
still more intricate polyatomic molecules show signs of yelding. Dif-
ferent isotopes of the same element, when present in compounds, often
MASTER KEY OF SCIENCE—RUSSELL Vi
give widely separated bands. From these, new isotopes of oxygen,
nitrogen, and carbon have been discovered, and the ratio of the
masses of the different atoms determined with extreme precision. In
atomic spectra, the isotope effect is extremely small, except for hydro-
gen—where it has recently permitted the identification of an isotope
of double weight.
Fine structure in the lines of heavier atoms arises partly from the
presence of isotopes and partly from some sort of “spin” within
the atomic nucleus; and its study affords a promising approach to
the problem of nuclear structure.
While all this was going on, X rays were also found to contain
monochromatic radiations, observable by using the atoms in a crystal
as a diffraction grating. These spectra have given us information
about the interior of atoms, comparable with that which optical spec-
tra furnish concerning the exterior. They are much simpler than
the latter, and now furnish the chemist with his most delicate test
for the detection of new elements. Incidentally, they make it certain
that except for the few well-recognized gaps, no elements lighter
than uranium remain to be discovered.
Working in the opposite direction, X-ray spectroscopy opens the
door to another untrodden realm—the exact study of the arrange-
ment of atoms in crystals, which can now be specified in minute
detail.
All through these triumphs ran a discordant note. Certain numer-
ical relations—notably in the Zeeman effect—though exact, differed
systematically from those predicted by the orbit theory, and every
calculation based on the relative positions of electrons in these orbits
led to a wrong answer. This discrepancy has vanished since the
orbital picture of the atom was replaced by the difficultly visualizable
wave-mechanics or the wholly unpicturable matrix theory. When a
modern lecturer tries to draw an atom on the blackboard, he uses not
chalk, but an eraser, and constructs a smudge illustrating the relative
probability of finding a unit charge in different regions. But as a
means of calculation—interpreting and, on occasion, predicting the
results of precise observation—the new theory advances from con-
quest to conquest.
The ramifications of these new ideas throughout the range of mo-
lecular and atomic physics are too numerous to mention. To take
but one instance at random, the magnetic susceptibilities of solutions
of salts of the rare earths may be fully explained by the theory of
spectral structure—even though the spectra of the trebly ionized
atoms (upon which these depend) have not yet been observed.
There is probably no field in which the new spectroscopy has been
of more aid than in astrophysics. The recognition that Lockyer’s
138 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
enhanced lines are produced by ionized atoms, and the general appli-
cation of the laws of ionization to stellar atmospheres have trans-
formed our whole viewpoint. We know now that the disappearance
of the lines of the metals from the hot stars means only that they
have been so highly ionized that they no longer give lines in the
observable region, and that the lines of the permanent gases, and the
nonmetals generally, are weak or absent in the cooler stars because
their atoms are not highly enough excited to be able to absorb the
observable lines. From measures of line width, and also by study
of multiplets, the actual number of atoms which produce a given
spectral line may be estimated, and an approximate quantitative
analysis made of the atmospheres of the sun and stars. The results
indicate a remarkable similarity of composition, despite the great
differences in the spectra of hot and cool stars. The relative abun-
dance of the elements is similar to that in the earth’s crust or in
meteorites, with one noteworthy exception. Hydrogen—a minor
constituent here—is overwhelmingly predominant in the stars. (The
excess very likely escaped during the formation of our planet.)
Both the temperature and pressure of a star’s atmosphere may be
found from the intensities of the spectral lines. The former agree
with the values deduced from the colors of starlight; the latter are
surprisingly small, and indicate that the atmospheres are of exceed-
ingly low density. The whole atmosphere of the sun, brought to
standard temperature and pressure, would make a layer of gas less
than a hundred feet thick, of which the metallic vapors form about
1 per cent.
A similar conclusion was reached more than 40 years ago by Lock-
yer, by the simple process of comparing the sodium lines in the solar
spectrum with those absorbed by the vapor present in a Bunsen flame.
The sun’s atmosphere, of course, is not sharply bounded at the bot-
tom; it grows hazier owing to the increasing density of the free elec-
trons and ions, and passes into the luminous photosphere. The prin-
ciples upon which this increasing opacity can be calculated are essen-
tially spectroscopic, and the data regarding the ionization and excita-
tion potentials of atoms, which it requires, have been derived spec-
troscopically.
Two more applications may be mentioned—to matter in extreme
states of condensation and rarefaction.
From the spectroscopic data regarding atoms it follows that, at
very high temperatures, inside the stars, they will be completely ion-
ized down to bare nuclei and electrons. Matter in this state should
be exceedingly compressible, but not infinitely so—the limiting fac-
tor being the degeneracy of the gas (in the sense of the new quan-
tum theory) at a density several hundred thousand times that of
MASTER KEY OF SCIENCE—RUSSELL 139
water. The problematical white dwarf stars, like the companion of
Sirius, show conclusive evidence of being in this state, while the
shift toward the red of the lines in their spectra (coming from
the outer atmosphere) affords an important confirmation of general
relativity. At the other extreme, the gaseous nebulae—which from
gravitational considerations must be of extreme tenuity—show spec-
tral lines which were long a tantalizing problem. Modern spec:
troscopy revealed the existence of metastable atomic states, from
which light-producing transitions would not occur unless the in-
dividual atoms were left undisturbed much longer than they would
be except in an exceedingly rarefied gas. Bowen thus identified
the nebular lines as “ forbidden” lines of the sort produced by the
most familiar elements, oxygen and nitrogen above all. The hypo-
thetical unknown element nebulium thus very literally vanished into
thin air.
% tesa oe . plan
erbbrululiy: jsiinde satel | peryuncats te. eeshir 8
‘remy yotkneh). anomie iy donde orate
tituctp ae sotibartits tod Sabroryihie maelioty :
z nest ale nidee—taahricioa pains: hauleyerntinc serach!
saa de slows yah ad otteot aL RO sek Saws
daeeproatkeldy vifaaldusg: arlisiiatstiedous, gis
(sti nhc oetheit oinuedialelsiasioens To 9aaetaixs
ntredbiqAloer uissa doachinew efotaetiae
Rise pidd calls toxrol sorindidschtsdaniaat pies if
paid liven terete! amg Gemoset -iotonaaiian
satdord bev dboul woe odd to aonibs? sobhidioleajesatl Mie
saan sel Dreuhby ovouls amegonity hack: noyyzo'vedrsocctaley tnd fliae
séani darteiouw Vi pica git anddcadihedsatinns ie
ESCH ANS : eric lee’. Ho! Shyer ay tiie. eag a are :
7 y ception Bptheas rsa
A
n-th care ;
‘ 4 : eli ties a? h
eens f he latter art.
pETT RD ure of dxcnak Ay
aii te ¥, 4
on ‘ : $ ee: Toad sana
sin haath a
att Tate se eee aaa seer nye
i Soa cone
“
; J LAr iAeh re
Ct” Severe ete 4 i bei
ane ¢ De wed Bitys by pee hed a4 Heal
ao 4S 4 rie katt i Bas AL dwiestygt ther
rh ; c : j Sain ect livtssva} ;
2 Pps fy Piles
' , i ao i i hi ” ie? + J
a) x ms TT Mie ane
hk <00M ws eMC ~ ie nate
ul =e) SFiS hints rey aa dit pi Ole ra ‘fot
SLY AAU One ely hit ches we et Ae Af »
bis eal eli). aed electra pita ig tits ‘ith ‘
ros PRAY STE Miloo bat nh ee pe oh ita
cae Mp iS Pe PARR HS-tho sas Cy tak spo of tahoe
Gib ithateth awl OY eeweral vier: thonusiiy
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Russell PLATE 1
1. A VACUUM SPECTROGRAPH USED FOR STUDIES IN THE EXTREME ULTRA-
VIOLET REGION OF LIGHT
It was developed from a design of Prof. Karl T. Compton, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
with the assistance of Dr. Joseph C. Boyce, a research associate in the department of physics. It
is in the spectroscopic labcratory at M. 1. T., a “science wonderland,’’ which ‘‘represents the heaviest
artillery vet concentrated by science for assaulting the citadel of the atom.”
2. THE GREAT 21-FOOT VACUUM SPECTROGRAPH AT M. I. T., THE LARGEST
EVER BUILT
It was designed by Prof. George R. Harrison, director of the spectroscopic laboratory. When the
cylinder is evacuated, the force exerted by the atmosphere on the outside is approximately 88 tons.
The size of this huge spectroscope is indicated by comparing it with the one on the table which is of
the size customarily used in this field of research.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Russell PLATE 2
1. THE GREAT HOOKER 100-INCH TELESCOPE AT
MOUNT WILSON OBSERVATORY
It has been enormously valuable in spectroscopic research.
2. THE SPECTROHELIOGRAPH INVENTED BY GEORGE ELLERY HALE, 1890
THE DECLINE OF DETERMINISM?
By Sir Artuour Epprineron, F. R. S.
Determinism has faded out of theoretical physics. Its exit has
been commented on in various ways. Some writers are incredulous
and can not be persuaded that determinism has really been elimi-
nated. Some think that it is only a domestic change in physics,
having no reactions on general philosophic thought. Some imagine
that it is a justification for miracles. Some decide cynically to wait
and see if determinism fades in again.
The rejection of determinism is in no sense an abdication of
scientific method; indeed it has increased the power and precision
of the mathematical analysis of observed phenomena. On the other
hand I can not agree with those who belittle the general philosophical
significance of the change. The withdrawal of physical science from
an attitude it has adopted consistently for more than 200 years is
not to be treated lightly; and it involves a reconsideration of our
views with regard to one of the perplexing problems of our existence.
In this address, I shall deal mainly with the physical universe, and
say very little about mental determinism or free will. That might
well be left to those who are more accustomed to arguing about such
questions if only they could be awakened to the new situation which
has arisen on the physical side. At present I can see little sign of
such an awakening. Waking is a rude process; and if I sometimes
shout it is because current literature resounds with the snores of
those who are asleep.
DEFINITIONS OF DETERMINISM
Let us first be sure that we agree as to what is meant by determin-
ism. I quote three definitions or descriptions for your consideration.
The first is by a mathematician (Laplace) :
We ought then to regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its
antecedent state and the cause of the state that is to follow. An intelligence,
who for a given instant should be acquainted with all the forces by which
nature is animated and with the several positions of the entities composing it,
1 Presidential address to the Mathematical Association, 1932. Reprinted, by permis-
sion, from the Mathematical Gazette, vol. 16, No. 218, May, 1932.
141
142 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
if further his intellect were vast enough to submit those data to analysis, would
include in one and the same formula the movements of the largest bodies in the
universe and those of the lightest atom. Nothing would be uncertain for him;
the future as well as the past would be present to his eyes. The human mind
in the perfection it has been able to give to astronomy affords a feeble outline
of such an intelligence. * * * All its efforts in the search for truth tend to
approximate without limit to the intelligence we have just imagined.
The second is by a philosopher (C. D. Broad) :
“ Determinism” is the name given to the following doctrine. Let S be any
substance, Y any characteristic, and t any moment. Suppose that S is in fact in
the state o with respect to y at t. Then the compound supposition that every-
thing else in the world should have been exactly as it in fact was, and that S
should have been in one of the other two alternative states with respect to y
is an impossible one. [The three alternative states (of which o is one) are: To
have the characteristic ¥, not to have it, and to be changing. ]
The third is by a poet (Omar Khayyam) :
With Earth’s first Clay They did the Last Man’s knead,
And then of the Last Harvest sow’d the Seed:
Yea, the first Morning of Creation wrote
What the Last Dawn of Reckoning shall read.
I propose to take the poet’s description as my standard. Perhaps
you will think this is an odd choice; but there is no doubt that his
words express what is in our minds when we refer to determinism.
The other two definitions need to be scrutinized suspiciously; we
are afraid there may be a catch in them. In saying that the physi-
cal universe as now pictured is not a universe in which “the first
morning of creation wrote what the last dawn of reckoning shall
read,” we make it clear that the abandonment of determinism is no
technical quibble but is to be understood in the most ordinary sense
of the word.
It is important to notice that all three definitions introduce the
time element. Determinism postulates not merely causes but pre-
existing causes. Determinism means predetermination. Hence, in
any argument about determinism, the dating of the alleged causes
is an important matter; we must challenge them to produce their
birth certificates.
Ten years ago practically every physicist of repute was, or believed
himself to be, a determinist, at any rate so far as inorganic phenom-
ena are concerned. He believed that he had come across a scheme
of strictly causal law, and that it was the primary aim of science to
fit as much of our experience as possible into such a scheme. The
methods, definitions, and conceptions of physical science were so
much bound up with this assumption of determinism that the limits
(if any) of the scheme of causal law were looked upon as the ulti-
mate limits of physical science.
DECLINE OF DETERMINISM—EDDINGTON 143
To see the change that has occurred, we can consider a recent book
which goes as deeply as anyone has yet penetrated into the funda-
mental structure of the physical universe, Dirac’s Quantum Mechan-
ics. I do not know whether Dirac is a determinist or not; quite
possibly he believes as firmly as ever in the existence of a scheme of
strict causal law. But the significant thing is that in this book he
has no occasion to refer to it. In the fullest account of what has yet
been ascertained as to the way things work, causal law is not
mentioned.
This is a deliberate change in the aim of theoretical physics. If
the older physicist had been asked why he thought that progress
consisted in fitting more and more phenomena into a deterministic
scheme, his most effective reply would have been “ What else is there
to do?” A book such as Dirac’s supplies the answer. For the new
aim has been extraordinarily fruitful, and phenomena which had
hitherto baffled exact mathematical treatment are now calculated
and the predictions are verified by experiment. We shall see pres-
ently that indeterministic law is as useful a basis for practical pre-
dictions as deterministic law was. By all practical tests progress
along this new branch track must be recognized as a great advance
in knowledge. No doubt some will say “ Yes, but it is often neces-
sary to make a detour in order to get round an obstacle. Presently
we shall have passed the obstacle and be able to join the old road
again.” I should say rather that we are like explorers on whom at
last it has dawned that there are other enterprises worth pursuing
besides finding the Northwest Passage; and we need not take too
seriously the prophecy of the old mariners who regard these enter-
prises as a temporary diversion to be followed by a return to the
“true aim of geographical exploration.” But at the moment I am
not concerned with prophecy and counterprophecy; the important
thing is to grasp the facts of the present situation.
SECONDARY LAW
Let us first try to see how the new aim of physical science origi-
nated. We observe certain regularities in the course of nature and
formulate these as laws of nature. Laws may be stated positively
or negatively, “ Thou shalt ” or “ Thou shalt not.” For the present
purpose it is most convenient to formulate them negatively. Con-
sider the following two regularities which occur in our experience:
(a) We never come across equilateral triangles whose angles are
unequal.
(6) We never come across 13 trumps in our hand at bridge.
In our ordinary outlook we explain these regularities in funda-
mentally different ways. We say that the first occurs because the
144 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
contrary experience is impossible; the second occurs because the
contrary experience is too improbable.
This distinction is entirely theoretical; there is nothing in the
observations themselves to suggest which type a particular regularity
belongs to. We recognize that “impossible ” and “ too improbable ”
can both give adequate explanation of any observed uniformity of
experience, and the older theory rather haphazardly explained some
uniformities one way and other uniformities the other way. In the
new physics we make no such discrimination; the union obviously
must be on the basis of (0) not (a). It can scarcely be supposed that
there is a law of nature which makes the holding of 13 trumps
in a properly dealt hand impossible; but it can be supposed that our
failure to find equilateral triangles with unequal angles is only be-
cause such triangles are too improbable. Of course, my remark
does not refer to the theorem of pure geometry; I am speaking of
regularities of our experience and refer therefore to the experience
which is supposed to confirm this property of an equilateral triangle
as being true of actual measurement. Our measurements regularly
confirm it to within the highest accuracy attainable and no doubt
will always do so; but according to modern theory that is because
a failure could only occur as the result of an exceedingly improbable
coincidence in the behavior of the vast number of particles concerned
in any experimental measurement.
We must, however, first consider the older view which distin-
guished type (a) as a special class of regularity. Accordingly there
were two types of natural law. The earth keeps revolving round the
sun because it is impossible it should run away. Heat flows from a
hot body to a cold because it is too improbable that it should flow the
other way. I call the first type primary law, and the second type
secondary law. The recognition of secondary law was the thin end
of the wedge that ultimately cleft the deterministic scheme.
For practical purposes primary and secondary law exert equally
strict control. The improbability referred to in secondary law is so
enormous that failure even in an isolated case is not to be seriously
contemplated. You would be utterly astounded if heat flowed from
you to the fire so that you got chilled by standing in front of it,
although such an occurrence is judged by physical theory to be not
impossible but improbable. Now it is axiomatic that in a deter-
ministic scheme nothing is left to chance; a law which has the ghost
of a chance of failure cannot form part of the scheme. So long as
the aim of physics is to bring to light a deterministic scheme, the
pursuit of secondary law is a blind alley since it leads only to proba-
bilities. The determinist is not content with a law which prescribes
that, given reasonable luck, the fire will warm me; he admits that
DECLINE OF DETERMINISM—EDDINGTON 145
that is the probable effect, but adds that somewhere at the base of
physics there are other laws which prescribe just what the fire will
do to me, luck or no luck.
To borrow an analogy from genetics, determinism is a dominant
character. We can (and indeed must) have secondary indeterminis-
tic laws within any scheme of primary deterministic law—laws which
tell us what is likely to happen, but are overridden by the dominant
laws which tell us what must happen. So determinism watched with
equanimity the development of indeterministic law within itself.
What matter? Deterministic law remains dominant. It was not
foreseen that indeterministic law when fully grown might be able to
stand by itself and supplant its dominant parent. There is a game
called “Think of a number.” After doubling, adding, and other
calculations, there comes the direction “Take away the number you
first thought of.” We have reached that position in physics, and the
time has come to take away the determinism we first thought of.
The growth of secondary law within the deterministic scheme was
remarkable, and gradually sections of the subject formerly dealt
with by primary law were transferred to it. There came a time
when in some of the most progressive branches of physics secondary
law was used exclusively. The physicist might continue to profess
allegiance to primary law but he ceased to utilize it. Primary law
was the gold to be kept stored in vaults; secondary law was the paper
to be used for actual transactions. No one minded; it was taken for
granted that the paper was backed by gold. At last came the crisis
and physics went off the gold standard. This happened very re-
cently and opinions are divided as to what the result will be. Pro-
fessor Einstein, I believe, fears disastrous inflation and urges a
return to sound currency—if we can discover it. But most theoreti-
cal physicists have begun to wonder why the now idle gold should
have been credited with such magic properties. At any rate the
thing has happened and the immediate result has been a big advance
in atomic physics.
We have seen that indeterministic or secondary law accounts for
regularities of experience, so that it can be used for predicting the
future as satisfactorily as primary law. The predictions and
regularities refer to average behavior of the vast number of par-
ticles concerned in most of our observations. When we deal with
fewer particles the indeterminacy begins to be appreciable, and pre-
diction becomes more of a gamble; till finally the behavior of a
single atom or electron has a very large measure of indeterminacy.
Although some courses may be more probable than others, backing
an electron to do anything is in general as uncertain as backing a
horse.
146 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
It is commonly objected that our uncertainty as to what the
electron will do in the future is due not to indeterminism but to
ignorance. It is asserted that some character exists in the electron
or its surroundings which decides its future, only physicists have
not yet learned how to detect it. You will see later how I deal with
this suggestion. But I would here point out that if the physicist is
to take any part in the wider discussion on determinism as affecting
the significance of our lives and the responsibility of our decisions,
he must do so on the basis of what he has discovered, not on the
basis of what it is conjectured he might discover. His first step
should be to make clear that he no longer holds the position, occupied
for so long, of chief advocate for determinism, and that if there is any
deterministic law in the physical universe he is unaware of it. He
steps aside and leaves it to others—philosophers, psychologists, the-
ologians—to come forward and show, if they can, that they have
found indications of determinism in some other way.’ If no one
comes forward the hypothesis of determinism presumably drops;
and the question whether physics is actually antagonistic to it scarcely
arises. It is no use looking for an opposer until there is a proposer
in the field.
INFERENTIAL KNOWLEDGE
It is now necessary to examine rather closely the nature of our
knowledge of the physical universe.
All our knowledge of physical objects is by inference. Our minds
have no means of getting into direct contact with them ; but the objects
emit and scatter light waves, and they are the source of pressures
transmitted through adjacent material. They are like broadcasting
stations that send out signals which we can receive. At one stage
of the transmission the signals pass along nerves within our bodies.
Ultimately visual, tactual, and other sensations are provoked in the
mind. It is from these remote effects that we have to argue back
to the properties of the physical object at the far end of the chain
of transmission. The image which arises in the mind is not the
physical object, though it is a source of information about the
physical object; to confuse the mental object with the physical
object is to confuse the clue with the criminal. Life would be
impossible if there were no kind of correspondence between the
external world and the picture of it in our minds; and natural
selection (reinforced where necessary by the selective activity of the
2 With a view to learning what might be said from the philosophical side against the
abandonment of determinism, I took part in a symposium of the Aristotelian Society and
Mind Association in July, 1931. Indeternfinists were strongly represented, but unfortu-
nately there were no determinists in the symposium, and apparently none in the audience
which discussed it. I can scarcely suppose that determinist philosophers are extinct, but
it may be left to their colleagues to deal with them.
DECLINE OF DETERMINISM—EDDINGTON 147
lunacy commissioners) has seen to it that the correspondence is
sufficient for practical needs. But we cannot rely on the corre-
spondence, and in physics we do not accept any detail of the picture
unless it is confirmed by more exact methods of inference.
The external world of physics is thus a universe populated with
inferences. The inferences differ in degree and not in kind. Famil-
lar objects which I handle are just as much inferential as a remote
star which I infer from a faint image on a photographic plate or an
“undiscovered ” planet inferred from irregularities in the motion
of Uranus. It is sometimes asserted that electrons are essentially
more hypothetical than stars. There is no ground for such a distinc-
tion. By an instrument called a Geiger counter electrons may be
counted one by one as an observer counts one by one the stars in
the sky. In each case the actual counting depends on a remote
indication of the physical object. Erroneous properties may be
attributed to the electron by fallacious or insufficiently grounded
inference, so that we may have a totally wrong impression of what
it is we are counting; but the same is equally true of the stars. The
rules of inference are the laws of physics; thus the law that light
travels in straight lines enables us to infer the location of distant
objects; and so on. In fact a law of physics can be used either way—
to predict an effect from a cause or to infer a cause (i. e., a physical
object embodying certain properties) from an observed effect.
In the universe of inferences, past, present, and future appear
simultaneously and it requires scientific analysis to sort them out.
By a certain rule of inference, viz, the law of gravitation, we infer
the present or past existence of a dark companion to a star; by an
application of the same rule of inference we infer the existence on
August 11, 1999, of a configuration of the sun, earth, and moon,
which corresponds to a total eclipse of the sun. The shadow of the
moon on Cornwall in 1999 is already in the universe of inference.
It will not change its status when the year 1999 arrives and the
eclipse is observed; we shall merely substitute one method of infer-
ring the shadow for another. The shadow will always be an infer-
ence. I am speaking of the object or condition in the external
world which is called a shadow; our perception of darkness is not
the physical shadow, but is one of the possible clues from which its
existence can be inferred.
Of particular importance to the problem of determinism are our
inferences about the past. Strictly speaking our direct inferences
from sight, sound, touch, all relate to a time slightly antecedent;
but often the lag is more considerable. Suppose that we wish to
discover the constitution of a certain salt. We put it in a test tube,
apply certain reagents, and ultimately reach the conclusion that it
149571—33——11
148 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
was silver nitrate. It is no longer silver nitrate after our treatment
of it. This is an example of retrospective inference: The property
which we infer is not that of “being X ” but of “having been X.”
We noted at the outset that in considering determinism the alleged
causes must be challenged to produce their birth certificates so that
we may know whether they really were preexisting. Retrospective
inference is particularly dangerous in this connection because it
involves antedating a certificate. The experiment above mentioned
certifies the chemical constitution of a substance, but the date we
write on the certificate is earlier than the date of the experiment.
The antedating is often quite legitimate; but that makes the prac-
tice all the more dangerous, it lulls us into a feeling of security.
RETROSPECTIVE CHARACTERS
To show how retrospective inference might be abused, suppose
that there were no way of learning the chemical constitution of a
substance without destroying it. By hypothesis a chemist would
never know until after his experiment what substance he had been
handling, so that the result of every experiment he performed would
be entirely unforeseen. Must he then admit that the laws of
chemistry are chaotic? A man of resource would override such a
trifling obstacle. If he were discreet enough never to say beforehand
what his experiment was going to demonstrate, he might give edify-
ing lectures on the uniformity of nature. He puts a lighted match
in a cylinder of gas and the gas burns. “There you see that hydro-
gen is inflammable.” Or the match goes out. “That proves that
nitrogen does not support combustion.” Or it burns more brightly.
“Evidently oxygen feeds combustion.” “How do you know it
was oxygen?” “ By retrospective inference from the fact that the
match burned more brightly.” And so the experimenter passes from
cylinder to cylinder; the match sometimes behaves one way and
sometimes another, thereby beautifully demonstrating the uniform-
ity of nature and the determinism of chemical law. It would be
unkind to ask how the match must behave in order to indicate
indeterminism.
If by retrospective inference we infer characters at an earlier date
and then say that those characters invariably produce at a future
date the manifestation from which we inferred them, we are working
in a circle. The connection is not causation but definition, and we
are not prophets but tautologists. We must not mix up the genuine
achievements of scientific prediction with this kind of charlatanry,
nor the observed uniformities of nature with those so easily invented
by our imaginary lecturer. It is easily seen that to avoid vicious
DECLINE OF DETERMINISM—EDDINGTON 149
circles we must abolish purely retrospective characteristics—those
which are never found as existing but always as having existed. If
they do not manifest themselves until the moment that they cease
to exist, they can never be used for prediction except by those who
prophesy after the event.
Chemical constitution is not a retrospective character though it is
often inferred retrospectively. The fact that silver nitrate can be
bought and sold shows that there is a property of being silver nitrate
as well as of having been silver nitrate. Apart from special methods
of determining the constitution or properties of a substance without
destroying it, there is one general method widely applicable. We
divide the specimen into two parts, analyze one part (destroying it
if necessary) and show that its constitution has been X; then it is
usually a fair inference that the constitution of the other part 7s X.
It is sometimes argued that in this way a character inferable retro-
spectively must always be also inferable contemporaneously; if that
were true 1t would remove all danger of using retrospective infer-
ence to invent fictitious characters as causes of the events observed.
Actually the danger arises just at the point where the method of
sampling breaks down, viz, when we are concerned with character-
istics supposed to distinguish one individual atom from another atom
of the same substance; for the individual atom can not be divided
into two samples, one to analyze and one to preserve. Let us take
an example.
It is known that potassium consists of two kinds of atoms, one
kind being radioactive and the other inert. Let us call the two kinds
Kk, and Ks. If we observe that a particular atom bursts in the
radioactive manner we shall infer that it was a AH atom. Can we
say that the explosion was predetermined by the fact that it was a
K, and not a Kg atom? On the information stated there is no
justification at all; A, is merely an antedated label which we attach
to the atom when we see that it has burst. We can always do that
however undetermined the event may be which occasions the label.
Actually, however, there is more information which shows that the
burst is not undetermined. Potassium is found to consist of two
isotopes of atomic weights 39 and 41; and it is believed that 41 is
the radioactive kind, 39 being inert. It is possible to separate the
two isotopes and to pick out atoms known to be A,,. Thus 4, is
a contemporaneous character and can legitimately predetermine the
subsequent radioactive outburst; it replaces K, which was a
retrospective character.
So much for the fact of outburst; now consider the time of out-
burst. Nothing is known as to the time when a particular A, atom
will burst except that it will probably be within the next thousand
150 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
million years. If, however, we observe that it bursts at a time ¢
we can ascribe to the atom the retrospective character H;, meaning
that it had (all along) the property that it was going to burst at
time ¢. Now according to modern physics the character A; is not
manifested in any way—is not even represented in our mathematical
description of the atom—until the time ¢ when the burst occurs and
the character AH; having finished its job disappears. In these cir-
cumstances A; is not a predetermining cause. Our retrospective
labels and characters add nothing to the plain observational fact
that the burst occurred without warning at the moment ¢; they are
merely devices for ringing a change on the tenses.
The time of break up of a radioactive atom is an example of ex-
treme indeterminism; but it must be understood that according
to current theory all future events are indeterminate in greater or
lesser degree, and differ only in the margin of uncertainty. When
the uncertainty is below our limits of measurement the event is
looked upon as practically determinate; determinacy in this sense
is relative to the refinement of our measurements. A being accus-
tomed to time on the cosmic scale, who was not particular to a few
hundred million years or so, might regard the time of break up of the
radioactive atom as practically determinate. There is one unified
system of secondary law throughout physics and a continuous grada-
tion from phenomena predictable with overwhelming probability to
phenomena which are altogether indeterminate.
The statement that all phenomena have some degree of indeter-
minacy will probably be criticized as too sweeping. I will consider
just one example. I have said that a Ay) atom is not radioactive.
Then (it will be said) we can at least state one predetermined fact
about its future; we can predict without any indeterminacy that it
will not break up as a A,, atom would do. The answer of modern
physics is that strictly speaking there is no such thing as a 3, atom,
but only an atom which has a high probability of being Az. Such
an atom should contain 39 protons within a smail nucleus; but the
proton in modern physics has a very important peculiarity, viz, it
never is anywhere quite definitely though it may have a greater
probability of being in one place rather than another. Thus we can
never get beyond a high probability of 39 protons being collected
together. It is impossible to trap modern physics into predicting
anything with complete determinacy, because it deals with prob-
abilities from the outset.
It has seemed necessary for clearness to give an example of an
event believed to be widely indeterminate; but you must not sup-
pose that I have brought forward the phenomenon of radioactivity
as evidence for indeterminism. There is a widespread idea that
DECLINE OF DETERMINISM—EDDINGTON 151
physicists, having spent a few years investigating certain phenomena
and being bafiled to discover a cause, have jumped to the conclusion
that there is no cause. That is not the way in which the idea of
indeterminacy came into physics. I have tried to explain how it
originated in the earlier part of this address.
CRITICISM OF INDETERMINISM
In saying that there is no contemporaneous characteristic of the
radioactive atom determining the date at which it is going to break
up, we mean that in the picture of the atom as drawn in present-day
physics no such characteristic appears; the atom which will break
up in 1960 and the atom which will break up in the year 150000 are
drawn precisely alike. But, you will say, surely that only means
that the characteristic is one which physics has not yet discovered; in
due time it will be found and inserted in the picture either of the
atom or of its environment. If such indeterminacy were exceptional
that would be the natural conclusion and we should have no objec-
tion to accepting such an explanation as a likely way out of a diffi-
culty. But the radioactive atom was not brought forward as a
difficulty; it was brought forward as a favorable illustration of
that which applies in greater or lesser degree to all kinds of phenom-
ena. There is a difference between explaining away an exception
and explaining away a rule.
The persistent critic continues, “ You are evading the point. I
contend that there are characteristics unknown to you which com-
pletely predetermine not only the time of break up of the radio-
active atom but all physical phenomena. How do you know there
are not? You are not omniscient.” It is at this point I want to
shout and wake my critic. So I will tell you a story.
About the year 2000, the famous archeologist Professor Lambda
discovered an ancient Greek inscription which recorded that a for-
elgn prince, whose name was given as KaydexAys, came with his fol-
lowers into Greece and established his tribe there. The professor,
anxious to identify the prince, after exhausting other sources of
information, began to look through the letters C and K in the
Encyclopedia Athenica. His attention was attracted by an article
on Canticles who it appeared was the son of Solomon. Clearly that
was the required identification; no one could doubt that KavdeKAys
was the Jewish prince Canticles. His theory attained great notoriety.
At that time the great powers of Greece and Palestine were con-
cluding an entente and the Greek Prime Minister in an eloquent per-
oration made touching reference to the newly discovered historical
ties of kinship between the two nations. Some time later Professor
Lambda happened to refer to the article again and discovered an
152 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
unfortunate mistake; he had misread “ Son of Solomon ” for “ Song
of Solomon.” The correction was published widely, and it might
have been supposed that the Canticles theory would die a natural
death. But no; Greeks and Palestinians continued to believe in their
kinship, and the Greek Minister continued to make perorations.
Professor Lambda one day ventured to remonstrate with him. The
minister turned on him severely, “ How do you know that Solomon
had not a son called Canticles? You are not omniscient.” The
professor, having reflected on the rather extensive character of
Solomon’s matrimonial adventures, wisely made no reply.
The curious thing is that the determinist who takes this line is
under the illusion that he is adopting a more modest attitude in
regard to our scientific knowledge than the indeterminist. The
indeterminist is accused of claiming omniscience. I will not make
quite the same countercharge against the determinist; but surely it
is only the man who thinks himself nearly omniscient who would
have the audacity to start enumerating all the things which (it occurs
to him) might exist without his knowing it. Iam so far from omnis-
cient that my list would contain innumerable entries. If it is any
satisfaction to the critic, my list does include deterministic charac-
ters—along with Martian irrigation works, ectoplasm, etc.—as things
which might exist unknown to me.
It must be realized that determinism is a positive assertion about
the behavior of the universe. It is not sufficient for the determinist
to claim that there is no fatal objection to his assertion; he must
produce some reason for making it. I do not say he must prove it,
for in science we are ready to believe things on evidence falling
short of strict proof. If no reason for asserting it can be given, it
collapses as an idle speculation. It is astonishing that even scientific
writers on determinism advocate it without thinking it necessary
to say anything in its favor, merely pointing out that the new
physical theories do not actually disprove determinism. If that
really represents the status of determinism no reputable scientific
journal would waste space over it. Conjectures put forward on
slender evidence are the curse of science; a conjecture for which
there is no evidence at all is an outrage. So far as the physical
universe is concerned determinism appears to explain nothing; for
in the modern books which go farthest into the theory of the phe-
nomena no use is made of it.
Indeterminism is not a positive assertion. I am an indeterminist
in the same way that I am an anti-moon-is-made-of-green-cheese-ist.
That does not mean that I especially identify myself with the doc-
trine that the moon is not made of green cheese. Whether or not
this lunar theory can be reconciled with modern astronomy is scarcely
DECLINE OF DETERMINISM—EDDINGTON £53
worth inquiring; the main point is that green-cheeseism lke deter-
minism is a conjecture that we have no reason for entertaining.
Undisprovable hypotheses of that kind can be invented ad lib.
PRINCIPLE OF UNCERTAINTY
The mathematical treatment of an indeterminate universe does
not differ much in form from the older treatment designed for a
determinate universe. The equations of wave mechanics used in
the new theory are not different in principal from those of hydro-
dynamics. The fact is that since an algebraic symbol can be used to
represent either a known or an unknown quantity, we can symbolize a
definitely predetermined future or an unknown future in the same
way. ‘The difference is that whereas in the older formulae every
symbol was theoretically determinable by observation, in the present
theory there occur symbols whose values are not assignable by
observation.
Hence, if we use the equations to predict say the future velocity of
an electron the result will be an expression containing besides known
symbols a number of undeterminable symbols. The latter make the
prediction indeterminate. I am not here trying to prove or explain
the indeterminacy of the future; I am only stating how we adapt
our mathematical technique to deal with an indeterminate future.
The indeterminate symbols can often (or perhaps always) be ex-
pressed as unknown phase angles. When a large number of phase
angles are involved we may assume in averaging that they are
uniformly distributed from 0° to 360°, and so obtain predictions
which could only fail if there has been an unlikely coincidence of
phase angles. That is the secret of all our successful prophecies;
the unknowns are eliminated not by determinate equations but by
averaging.
There is a very remarkable relation between the determined and
the undetermined symbols which is known as Heisenberg’s prin-
ciple of uncertainty. The symbols are paired together, every
determined symbol having an undetermined symbol as partner. I
think that this regularity makes it clear that the occurrence of
undetermined symbols in the mathematical theory is not a blemish;
it gives a special kind of symmetry to the whole picture. The
theoretical limitation on our power of predicting the future is seen
to be systematic, and it can not be confused with other casual
limitations due to our lack of skill.
Let us consider an isolated system. It is part of a universe of
inference, and all that can be embodied in it must be capable of
being inferred from the influence which it broadcasts over its
surroundings. Whenever we state the properties of a body in terms
154 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
of physical quantities we are imparting knowledge as to the response
of various external indicators to its presence and nothing more.
A knowledge of the response of all kinds of objects would determine
completely its relation to its environment, leaving only its un-get-
at-able inner nature which is outside the scope of physics. Thus if
the system is really isolated so that it has no interaction with its
surroundings, it has no properties belonging to physics but only an
inner nature which is beyond physics. So we must modify the
conditions a little. Let it for a moment have some interaction with
the world exterior to it; the interaction starts a train of influences
which may reach an observer; he can from this one signal draw
an inference about the system, 1. e., fix the value of one of the symbols
describing the system or fix one equation for determining their values.
To determine more symbols there must be further interactions, one
for each new value fixed. It might seem that in time we could fix
all the symbols in this way so that there would be no undetermined
symbols in the description of the system. But it must be remem-
bered that the interaction which disturbs the external world by a
signal also reacts on the system. ‘There is thus a double conse-
quence; the interaction starts a signal through the external world
informing us that the value of a certain symbol p in the system is
pi, and at the same time it alters to an indeterminable extent the
value of another symbol g in the system. If we had learned from
former signals that the value of g was q,, our knowledge will cease
to apply, and we must start again to find the new value of g. Pres-
ently there may be another interaction which tells us that g is now
gz; but the same interaction knocks out the value p, and we no
longer know p. It is of the utmost importance for prediction that
a paired symbol and not the inferred symbol is upset by the inter-
action. If the signal taught us that at the moment of interaction
p was p, but that p had been upset by the interaction and the value
no longer held good, we should never have anything but retro-
spective knowledge—like the chemistry lecturer whom I described.
Actually we can have contemporaneous knowledge of the values
of half the symbols, but never more than half. We are like the
comedian picking up parcels; each time he picks up one he drops
another.
There are various possible transformations of the symbols and the
condition can be expressed in another way. Instead of two paired
symbols, the one wholly known and the other wholly unknown, we
can take two symbols each of which is known with some uncertainty ;
then the rule is that the product of the two uncertainties is fixed.
Any interaction which reduces the uncertainty of determination of
one increases the uncertainty of the other. For example, the posi-
DECLINE OF DETERMINISM—EDDINGTON 155
tion and velocity of an electron are paired in this way. We can
fix the position with a probable error of 0.001 millimeters and the
velocity with a probable error of about 1 km per sec.; or we can
fix the position to 0.0001 millimeters and the velocity to 10 km per
sec.; and so on. We divide the uncertainty how we like but we
can not get rid of it. If current theory is right, this is not a question
of lack of skill or a perverse delight of Nature in tantalizing us, for
the uncertainty is actually embodied in the theoretical picture of the
electron; if we describe something as having exact position and
velocity we can not be describing an electron, just as (according to
Russell) if we describe a person who knows what he is talking about
and whether what he is saying is true we can not be describing a pure
mathematician.
If we divide the uncertainty in position and velocity at time (
in the most favorable way we find that the predicted position of
the electron one second later at time ¢2 is uncertain to about 5 centi-
meters. That represents the extent to which the future position is
not predetermined by anything existing one second earlier. If the
position at time ¢, always remained uncertain to this extent there
would be no failure of determination.’ But when the second has
elapsed we can measure the position of the electron to 0.001 muilli-
meters or even more closely, as already stated. This accurate posi-
tion is not predetermined; we have to wait until the time arrives and
then measure it. It may be recalled that the new knowledge is
acquired at a price. Along with our rough knowledge of position
(to 5 cms) we had a fair knowledge of the velocity; but when we
acquire more accurate knowledge of the position the velocity goes
back into extreme uncertainty.
We might spend a long while admiring the detailed working of
this cunning arrangement by which we are prevented from finding
out more than we ought to know. But I do not think you should
look on these as Nature’s devices to prevent us from seeing too far
into the future. They are the devices of the mathematician who has
to protect himself from making impossible predictions. It commonly
happens that when we ask silly questions, mathematical theory does
not directly refuse to answer but gives a noncommittal answer lke
0/0 out of which we can not wring any meaning. Similarly when we
ask where the electron will be to-morrow, the mathematical theory
does not give the straightforward answer “It is impossible to say
because it is not yet decided ”—because that is beyond the resources
of an algebraic vocabulary. It gives us an ordinary formula of
#’s and y’s, but makes sure that we can not possibly find out what
the formula means—until to-morrow.
*For the thing we failed to predict (exact position at time t2) would be meaningless.
156 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
MIND AND INDHTERMINISM
I have, perhaps fortunately, left myself no time to discuss the
effect of indeterminacy in the physical universe on our general
outlook. I will content myself with stating in summary form the
points which seem to arise.
(1) If the whole physical universe is deterministic, mental deci-
sions (or at least effective mental decisions) must also be predeter-
mined. Tor if it is predetermined in the physical world, to which
your body belongs, that there will be a pipe between your lips on
January 1, the result of your mental struggle on December 31 as to
whether you will give up smoking in the New Year is evidently
predetermined. The new physics thus opens the door to indeter-
minacy of mental phenomena, whereas the old deterministic physics
bolted and barred it completely.
(2) The door is opened slightly, but apparently the opening is not
wide enough. For according to analogy with inorganic physical
systems we should expect the indeterminacy of human movements
to be quantitatively insignificant. In some way we must transfer
to human movements the wide indeterminacy characteristic of atoms
instead of the almost negligible indeterminacy manifested by inor-
ganic systems of comparable scale. I think this difficulty is not
insuperable, but it must not be underrated.
(3) Although we may be uncertain as to the intermediate steps we
can scarcely doubt what is the final answer. If the atom has in-
determinacy, surely the human mind will have an equal indeter-
minacy; for we can scarcely accept a theory which makes out the
mind to be more mechanistic than the atom.
(4) Is the human will really more free if its decisions are swayed
by new factors born from moment to moment than if they are the
outcome solely of heredity, training and other predetermining
causes ?
On such questions as these we have nothing new to say. Argu-
ment will no doubt continue “about it and about.” But it seems to
me that there is a far more important aspect of indeterminacy. It
makes it possible that the mind is not utterly deceived as to the mode
in which its decisions are reached. On the deterministic theory of
the physical world my hand in writing this address is guided in a
predetermined course according to the equations of mathematical
physics; my mind is unessential—a busybody who invents an irrele-
vant story about a scientific argument as an explanation of what my
hand is doing—an explanation which can only be described as a
downright lie. If it is true that the mind is so utterly deceived in
the story it weaves round our human actions, I do not see where
DECLINE OF DETERMINISM—EDDINGTON 157
we are to obtain our confidence in the story it tells of the physical
universe.
Physics is becoming difficult to understand. First relativity
theory, then quantum theory, then wave mechanics have trans-
formed the universe, making it seem ever more fantastic to our
minds. Perhaps the end is not yet. But there is another side to
this transformation. Naive realism, materialism, the mechanistic
hypothesis were simple; but I think that it was only by closing our
eyes to the essential nature of experience, relating as it does to the
reactions of a conscious being, that they could be made to seem
credible. These revolutions of scientific thought are clearing up the
deeper contradictions between life and theoretical knowledge, and
the latest phase with its release from determinism marks a great step
onward. I will even venture to say that in the present theory of
the physical universe we have at last reached something which a
reasonable man might almost believe.
!
i
atten — neal
AVR ee?
ie a
: shin anes Wal, Sewerabh
A Oy eee, a a ean a
ute
al Apa
iat art. to stoves Gon ah
ei ee,” pari pe 4 a natehy) ite #
este trea, ei oo vee
Wy, Aiea aN eOro arate: me.
oi hb le iad acca, ah. tread SUPE dae Jiset sate Goat
pilatoudoons ight. aplerRi. gine these, je :,
igo yittapba wh tietep avert divagelt iM GL dod soliares ater
dof, ote pte cada lerys aoetstsng a0, tee wiujng eae
ong eo obit och. Ali ooy ects, teh. nusad BORO R., A
orihseas sonoma telah aftanenio an lover gegen eS
Sita, sabelyy tial byaltoapasls. rin oTih pas ain htatyeratan:
dats Joa gecliemavinlaetphasoyh sonakon nti dian reiey tee
tp peoailt) Inonend olden ters eH -oF. enstitowmera: Hive Co |
8 slviddmy, saishvoray bathioay: et by. RAT. oie peter aM LAO aa
erthive wancnily, ° ear neonaedis pees Sent a Ate BORO
and Wer hoela Ape Ta ph the ake Priieeey OY Hee’ andes
af aed ate oats Tr ae” Sa ieee Te Sa ae trainee i. :
ee Bey biy Wal ERAGE ER evetas Fear eeia a ea lad iv Thi eh Petlase eae abn
EOAE ee 4 Piseet eet Ole Wee ent nary dani feat: by, Yi q
cs toe TP einte ite’ Bala AD Qa Shae eeeouany se nol, 3
SMA tAdig, Cal atipuat ind ber eee rata, 1
(Oy Ei aPlione Gia bb ate ipete ee eth Rae We
cay reels “a wopL sent fe Ta Tate | TY ee
Siteyioraiv 9! he «<u aL an vue fil ejinl indwtdes 4
heady | Sage’ Wwe eta Riis Tae Le i bets Sater Bin in|
Pivots ii Ue Ares DhWetsad Te Che Ree eel i
or” be they dive welt ally mines Fee Ps Sid oes ae oh Le) aglied i
ae oF ALON TES AE Tp ere Tan) A a eee
betting sulely heck ene iid, Slee urd cto rane. &
OA “Sele Fa eS Ee We Ewe ee UT. Co ee Argus 4
evi wh! ce tenhiosistings @husei en? shoal” Baits Howie ae
OR EH Why rele a Fat Oe Ayan i Uk ee OT lara inagy, | He
DeLee COA CORY ale ris ih i a yhattandass
FR) eularceins aes Say ia, Ch tha Us nist poet We
fos ti rete ae ary ea ey a frig thie advan ws ee ea ne
DiMA LG Lined © Satine meena Eis: pire tan me ee orl oarhiteregd. 14 “7
Vay Ry T (yitel Tb, type tal st basal bike wilt) Leyes int trvelne ‘
“Kory addi swaeatinc: 2 pycotse Wa orplenation of wit pe
et ones Sy, Pepin ava ekinty “aay onty ba: Aakctt bat oe
Apacer eth Ea IE ey th cuihyjet a ee eet
AMD Se aviter. PP eRe WIS rena? «iy ees Sttion® rt ae 3
THE MEASUREMENT OF NOISE?
By G. W. C. Kaye, O. B. E., M. A., D. Sc., M. R. I.
Superintendent, Physics Department, National Physical Laboratory
The problem of noise is one common to all civilized nations and
its steady increase with the industrial development of the present
generation is becoming a matter for concern. The mechanization
and growth of road transport, for example, have brought in their
train a sea of noises in which a large number of people are daily
submerged.
One reads that visitors to London extol it as the quietest capital
city in the world. If so, the merit is wholly relative. It is under-
stood, in this connection, that inquiries into the question of noise are
being conducted in certain cities abroad, for example, Paris, Rome,
and Berlin. New York, probably the outstanding example of a
mechanized city, and admittedly the noisiest, has already set about
the problem with characteristic expedition and remarkable thor-
oughness. A recent comprehensive report called City Noise, pub-
lished in 1930 by the Noise Abatement Commission of the Department
of Health, New York City, is a mine of information (from which I
have not hesitated to draw) and a model of what a report should be
which is intended to interest and educate the public and to secure its
friendly cooperation. The commission, composed of eminent medical
men, physicists, engineers, and lawyers, arranged for the measure-
ment and analysis of the various types of noise in many parts of
New York, succeeded in establishing a number of relations and gen-
eralizations, the truth of which kad only been vaguely suspected, and
so were enabled to make proposals designed to secure noise abate-
ment wherever it might be found practicable. Certain recommenda-
tions to this end have in fact already been given effect.
In Great Britain the introduction of legislation dealing with
excessive noise has so far not proved possible; and it may be that the
better plan is first to educate public opinion. ‘Traffic noises have,
however, been the subject of conferences under the auspices of the
Ministry of Transport, while aircraft noises are being studied by a
1 Paper delivered at the weekly evening meeting of the Royal Institution of Great Brit-
ain, May 8, 19381; reprinted by permission.
159
160 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
subcommittee appointed in 1929 by the Aeronautical Research Com-
mittee. To both these bodies I am indebted for permission to refer
to certain of the problems investigated.
Noise occasioned by the frequent repetition of street cries, cab
whistles, etc., is frequently the subject of local by-laws, which impose
penalties for infringement. The Middlesex County Council is seek-
ing powers next session to deal with excessive, unreasonable, or un-
necessary noise, on much the same lines as other nuisances are dealt
with under the public health act. Several towns, for example, Edin-
burgh and Stockton-on-Tees, have recently taken steps to obtain
similar powers.
City noises are, of course, no new thing, and no doubt London,
ever since it became a big city, has always been noisy in its business
thoroughfares. Steel tires and horseshoes on cobbles or stone or
eranite sets were very noisy combinations in Victorian times, as
may still be verified in certain industrial towns. Asphalt or wooden-
surfaced roads and, above all, pneumatic tires must have brought
great relief.
But to-day is a machine age with noise as one of its by-products,
and the volume of traffic through busy streets 1s now such as to
create a background of noise, the level of which is brought home by
a stroli through the city on Sundays, or even more on the occasion
of the two minutes’ silence on Armistice Day.
Among the sufferers from the growth of traffic noise are schools
in busy thoroughfares, which find that classrooms fronting on the
street are well-nigh unusable, unless windows are kept closed to
the detriment of ventilation. By reason of the volume of industrial
and other traffic which now flows through the High in Oxford, many
rooms in adjacent colleges have become almost impossible for lectur-
ing, study, or examinations. Conversation and telephoning are mat-
ters of difficulty in many city offices. Some London hospitals are in
extremely busy streets, and the steady “ grumble ” of the traffic roar,
combined with the more trying irregular outbursts of constituent
noises, must be prejudicial to the welfare of some, at any rate, of the
patients. Nature has unfortunately not equipped the ears with a
device for excluding sound during sleep, in the same way as she has
provided eyelids for resting the eyes.
According to the New York commission, many motor horns are
unnecessarily loud—some of them, it is stated, can be heard 10
miles away in the quiet of the country. However, those who like to
reflect on the good old days may care to recall that the giant horn by
which Alexander the Great called his armies together is reputed to
have had much the same range.
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 161
So far in Great Britain, the menace of the public loudspeaker has
not attained the dimensions which it has reached in America. Giant
sound amplifiers now make it possible to hear the human voice nearly
2 miles away, and we learn that last Christmas, carols were broad-
cast by this means for 10 hours over an area of some 9 square miles.
The center of this acoustical disturbance was the eighty-first floor of
the Empire State Building—the latest and highest (1,250 feet)
skyscraper in New York.
As regards the effect of noise on human beings, there would appear
to be a volume of medical testimony in this country that the strain
of heavy traffic and other types of continuous din may act as a
powerful irritant to the nervous system; placid and normally un-
ruffled persons tending to become irritable and “ worn out.” Indus-
tries such as shipbuilding, boilermaking, cotton weaving, and print-
ing are, it is stated, prone to give the workers cumulative fatigue,
dizziness, headaches, and impaired hearing. Even relatively minor
noises, such as that of an electric fan or vacuum cleaner, can be
extraordinarily irritating at times. It is only when the noise is
stopped that the pronounced sense of reef makes one realize that one
has been unconsciously bracing one’s self against the noise all the
time. Some such reaction no doubt occurs to noise during sleep, and
may perhaps contribute to the difficulty which some people have of
obtaining really refreshing sleep in a railway sleeping-car.
In October, 1928, the British Medical Association submitted to the
Ministry of Health a valuable memorandum dealing with the effect
of noise on human beings. Their conclusions were in close accord-
ance with those arrived at by the New York Noise Commission, who
found that:
(1) Hearing is apt to be impaired in those exposed to constant
loud noises.
(2) Noise interferes seriously with the efficiency of the worker; it
lessens attention and makes concentration upon any task difficult.
(3) In the attempt to overcome the effect of noise, great strain is
put upon the nervous system, leading to neurasthenic states.
(4) Noise interferes seriously with sleep, even though in some
cases it appears that the system is able to adjust itself so that wake-
fulness does not result.
(5) It is well established that the normal development of infants
and young children is hindered by constant loud noises.
These conclusions are in general harmony with those of the Inter-
national Labor Office of the League of Nations, which in a recent
paper stressed the importance of the subject of the fatigue produced
by noise in relation to occupations.
162 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Reaction to noise is no doubt largely temperamental, and acute-
ness of hearing varies widely in different people. There are those
to whom noise is absolute anathema. It is stated, for example,
that Carlyle had a sound-proof room to work in, and again that
Edison was inclined to attribute to the quietness with which his deaf-
ness had invested him, much of his success in finding solutions to his
problems. According to Professor Spooner, Herbert Spencer used
to plug his ears with cotton-wool and even went the length of declar-
ing that “you might gauge a man’s intellectual capacity by the
degree of his intolerance of unnecessary noises.”
Such sensitivity to noise may be bound up with the fact that even
a limited exposure to very loud noises—such as on an airplane flight—
has the effect of making some people partly deaf for some minutes
or even hours after the noise ceases.
It appears to be the case, however, that many people get used to
noisy surroundings and adjust themselves unconsciously to the con-
ditions. The man whose house abuts on the railway becomes in-
different to the noise of a passing train, no longer notices it, has
acquired a “habit” of noise in fact. There are those who, accus-
tomed to sleep with a clock in their bedrooms, wake up if it stops
ticking. One hears, too, of people used to sleeping in the hubbub
of a town who can not court slumber in the quietness of the country.
O. Henry, for example, sang the praises of the pandemonium of the
city streets. In his Adventures of Neurasthenia he protested that
he could not sleep without the comforting lullaby of noise, and that
the silence of the country was so deep that he could “ hear the grass
blades sharpening themselves against each other.”
It is even claimed that a love of noise has become common and
chronic in America, much as in the Latin countries; and the fact.
that children love noise, at any rate of their own making, is ad-
vanced in favor of the view that a feeling for noise is bred in the
bone, born out of the fact that noise must have been an indispensable
friend of primitive man in his hunting and fighting. Indeed, it is
suggested that one’s “jump ” or response to a sudden strident or dis-
cordant noise is a survival of the old instinctive reaction to a menacing
danger. Be that as it may, it is no doubt a fact that a great many
people are partial to mixed “ musical noises,” particularly in their
lighter moments. The haters of jazz, on the other hand, seek to
associate such a liking with immaturity, arrested education, or even
worse!
2This applies also to children of a larger growth. A man hammering, for example,
finds the noise much less trying than do his neighbors. It would seem that the ear auto-
matically desensitizes itself temporarily when it is aware of the impending arrival of a
loud sound.
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 163
The question of noise tolerance seems, however, to be largely one
not only of sensitivity, whether chronic or temporary, but of the
“background ” of noise that one is used to. If external sounds are
completely excluded, adventitious noises are the more trying. An
amusing illustration is provided in Mary Kingsley’s book on West
Africa (1897), where she complains that “'The African is usually
great at dreams and has them very noisily!”
It is within the experience of us all that the ticking of a clock, the
scratching of a mouse, the creaking of floors or furniture, the chirping
of birds are aggravatingly apparent during the stillness of night
in the country: such noises would be submerged in the higher noise
level of a city dwelling. What is unconsciously desired is not so
much the complete exclusion of noise, but only that the background
shall be at an agreeably low level to which one is accustomed.
To sum up, the searching investigations undertaken on behalf of
the New York commission would indicate that, while most indi-
viduals, particularly the hale and hearty, can accustom themselves to
living or working in a noisy environment, there can be little doubt
that, in general, noise has a harmful effect on the mind, even of those
who are to all appearances immune to it. The evil effects are empha-
sized in the case of mental workers, young children, nervous or
fatigued individuals, and invalids.
Before passing on, it is interesting to recall that “ noise-money ”
was at one time a recognized payment at sea. We read in Chambers’
Journal for 1883 that:
So disagreeable is this fog-signaling duty ... that... the whole crew re-
ceive what they call noise-money ... for the time the signal is actually in
operation,
DEFINITIONS OF NOISH
Before going further, we should, I think, do well to try to come to
some agreement as to what we mean by a noise. To begin with,
* noise ” has ominous etymological relationship with “ nuisance ” and
“noxious;” and so, by analogy with the famous definition of dirt,
there is perhaps some justification for referring to noise as “ sound out
of place.” Although we should scarcely expect to find this definition
in the New Oxford Dictionary, we are nevertheless given an almost
embarrassing choice reflecting the wealth of shades of meaning which
the word has assumed. In the sense, however, with which we are at
present concerned, we find that noise is there defind as:
A loud or harsh sound or din of any kind; the aggregate of loud sounds
arising in a busy community.
The latter use of the word is well established, for, as long ago as
1651, we find in Hobbes’s Leviathan, 1, ii, 5:
Obscured and made weak; as the voyce of man is in the noyse of the day.
149571—33 12
164 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
One is apt to forget, however, that at one time a noise is connoted
“an agreeable or melodius sound.” In the Bible, Moses refers to the
“noise of them that sing,” and David repeatedly enjoins us to “ sing
and make a joyful noise.” It is an easy step to the next definition:
A band, or company of musicians.
Shakespeare uses the word in this sense in King Henry IV (2, 11, 4):
And see if thou canst find out Sneak’s noise;
Mistress Tearsheet would fain hear some music.
This obsolete association of noise with a band would seem to be
entering on a new lease of life, if one may judge from certain devel-
opments of modern music!
50
Cycles |
FiGURB 1.—Wave form of sound emitted by a motor generator set
Most textbooks on physics would, I think, differentiate a musical
sound from a noise by investing the latter with a complexity arising
from complete irregularity of period, amplitude, and wave form.
In other words, a noise is to be regarded as a medley of notes of defi-
nite frequencies, the mixing being sufficiently random to obscure the
musical quality of the individual notes. See, for example, Figure 1,
from observations by Churcher and King. (Journ. Inst. Electr.
Engs., 1930.)
As is very easy to demonstrate, it is, however, possible to generate
a note of high purity, but of such intensity or frequency as to be
voted a thoroughly objectionable “ noise ” by those who hear it. We
had better, I think, turn to the legal definition of noise. In law,
noise may be defined as an excessive, offensive, persistent, or startling
sound. Incidentally, by the common law of England, freedom from
noise is essential to the full enjoyment of a dwelling house, and acts
which affect that enjoyment may be actionable as nuisances. But
it has been laid down that a nuisance by noise, supposing malice to
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYRB 165
be out of the question, is emphatically a question of degree. Only
if a noise is exceptional and unreasonable, is there any likelihood of
restraining it by injunction. (Encycl. Brit.)
So much for the legal aspect. It does, however, appear to point to
an acceptable popular definition of noise—‘an acoustic redund-
ance ”—or perhaps “an acoustic annoyance,” and here we are re-
minded that the adjective “noisome” is literally “ annoy-some.”
(One recalls, too, that children have long been concerned with the
annoyance factor of noise as experienced by an oyster!)
In other words, a noise is an acoustic disturbance which is unwel-
come, whether because of its excessive loudness; its composition; its
persistency or frequency of occurrence (or alternatively, its inter-
mittency); its unexpectedness, untimeliness, or unfamiliarity; its
redundancy, inappropriateness, or unreasonableness; its suggestion
of intimidation, arrogance, malice, or thoughtlessness (it is well
known what depth of feeling can be stimulated in a pedestrian by
a motor horn); ... and so on.
We are clearly dealing with a subjective definition which takes
account of both the physiology and psychology of the individual, and
we ought not, therefore, to be surprised to find that “ One man’s
noise is another man’s music.” Incidentally the well-known fact that
listening to music engenders in some people an unquenchable desire
to converse, is doubtless associated with the rough-and-ready test
which we instinctively apply to a noise, that is, whether or not we
can hear one another speak. Conversation automatically languishes
in a tube train or airplane cabin, for example.
We are fortified in our outlook on noise by the recent proposal of
the Acoustical Society of America to define a noise as “ any unwanted
sound.” Such a definition would seem to be adequate for those few
occasions when it is necessary or desirable to draw a distinction be-
tween noise and any other kind of sound. It also conforms to the
views of the telephone engineer who regards noise as any extraneous
sound which tends to interfere with the reception of desired sounds.
THE FREQUENCY AND INTENSITY RANGES OF THE HAR
As is the case in many branches of science, the physics of acoustical
research owes its present facility and exactitude largely to the de-
velopment of electrical methods of measurement. The key lay in the
invention of the electronic valve, and to this the subject owes an
impetus which it had long needed.
Before we pass on to the question of noise measurement we shall be
well advised to review the relevant physical facts about the ear,
which is, of course, the ultimate critic in matters of noise. The foun-
dations of the subject rest largely on experiments with pure notes,
166 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
and here it should be recognized how greatly our present knowledge
of both hearing and speech is due to the noteworthy investigations
of Dr. Harvey Fletcher and his colleagues at the Bell Telephone
Laboratories in New York.
With reference to frequency, the average ear can perceive a range
of frequencies from about 20 to 20,000 cycles per second, the upper
limit declining with advancing years. In the various practical devel-
opments of acoustics, however, attention is largely restricted to the
ranges 50 to about 5,000 for speech and 35 to 7,000 for music.
As regards intensity, it has been shown by Wegel and others, from
experiments on pure notes, that there is a certain minimum amplitude
jae
Zeca °F Foci
Auditory Sensation Area
Energy Ratio
Cycles per see.
32 64 128 258 Si2 1024 20484096 8iS82 16384
c e' ce" ce" ev rod ce eo"
Frequency and Pitch of Note.
FIGURE 2.—Avyerage area of normal hearing, showing auditory ranges of
frequency and intensity
R.M.S. Oscillatory Pressure (Dynes per sq. cm.)
for each frequency below which the average ear fails to detect the
note. Moreover, the ear is much more sensitive to notes of medium
pitch than to higher or lower notes. The threshold or lower limit of
intensity passes in fact through a minimum at about 2,000 cycles per
second as we steadily change the frequency.
Similarly there is a maximum amplitude peculiar to each fre-
quency, above which the ear no longer functions—hearing is subor-
dinated to a tickling sensation or even actual pain. Again the ear
shows to advantage in the middle of the range (about 500 cycles per
second), and so the upper limit of intensity or threshold of feeling
passes through a maximum as we progressively vary the frequency.
Figure 2 shows the auditory sensation area for the average ear as
determined by Fletcher and Wegel. (Fletcher’s Speech and Hear-
ing.) The boundaries are constituted by the two threshold curves,
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 167
the dotted portions being those which are difficult to determine. We
see that the range of audibility passes through a maximum (at about
1,000 cycles per second) as the frequency is varied, and is greatly
reduced toward each end of the musical scale. This maximum range
corresponds to about a million millionfold variation in power, or a
millionfold variation of acoustical pressure from about, say, 0.0005
to 3,000 dynes per square centimeter. We note also in the case of
very high and very low notes the great intensity that is essential for
audibility and how restricted the range of audibility is. A familar
illustration is the sound from a 32-foot organ pipe which one feels
rather than hears.
As will presently appear, the matching and masking of sounds
form the basis respectively of two aural methods of measuring the
loudness of noise; and it will be of interest, therefore, to examine the
basic physical facts of each method.
THE MATCHING OF SOUNDS
As regards the matching of sounds, it is found that the average
ear can recognize under very favorable conditions a 10 per cent *
difference of energy when two pure notes of medium loudness are
sounded alternately without break. Under ordinary conditions,
however, the smallest average change in energy level detectable by
the normal ear is of the order of 26 per cent for sounds of medium
intensity and frequency. The figure is greater for feeble sounds
and less for very loud sounds. The value is also greater for very
high or low frequencies than for the raiddle of the range.
From the fact that it is a percentage increase rather than an
additive increase of energy which the ear associates with a change
of loudness, it is evident that, while the steps in the scale of sensation
of loudness advance arithmetically, the physical intensities advance
geometrically, the relation thus resembling the logarithmic scale of
powers of a slide rule. Here is, then, another illustration of the
Weber-Fechner law—the physiological effect is roughly proportional
to the logarithm of the energy producing the stimulus.
Kingsbury (Fletcher’s Speech and Hearing, p. 230) has carried
out experiments on the matching of pure tones to determine the
relation between the physical intensity and the aural loudness for
different frequencies. These experiments indicated that for fre-
quencies between about 700 and 4,000 cycles per second, the relation
between loudness and intensity is independent of the frequency. For
notes of lower frequency the loudness increases proportionately more
* This figure is more than doubled if there is an interval of silence between the two
notes of as little as half a second.
168 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
rapidly than the intensity. Kingsbury’s results are set out in Figure
8, which shows a number of equal loudness contours superposed on
the auditory sensation area. As will be seen, these contours are
roughly parallel to each other for medium frequencies above about
700 cycles per second.
An experimental illustration based on such loudness contours is to
operate a pure sound at constant intensity and gradually increase the
frequency, when the loudness will be heard to pass through a maxi-
mum at about 2,000 cycles per second. This is evidenced by the track
of the horizontal line in Figure 3 at a level of about 0.1 dyne per
square centimeter.
Threshold Decibel Sensation
Threshold
of Hearing
Don0I 16 3264 I28 256 5i2 1024 2048 4056 8192 16384 Cycles
Cc, é e c' c" ce" Ch ron Cc" Ge per sec.
Frequency and Pitch of Note.
Ficurn 3.—Auditory sensation area showing equal loudness contours; also decibel
“ladder”? and sensation-step ‘‘ladder’”’ for a frequency of 1,000 cycles per
second
R.MLS. Oscillatory Pressure (dynes per sq. cm.)
THE MASKING OF SOUNDS
With reference to the masking of sounds, the masking of one pure
note by another is usually measured by the extent to which the
threshold of audibility of the masked note is raised. In general a
particular note is masked (1) most readily of all by another of ap-
proximately the same frequency, (2) more readily by a note of lower
frequency than one of higher, at any rate for loudnesses about and
above speech level.
The position is not so simple with loud complex sounds, such as
noises, as the masking may be confused by other factors, such as the
masking of the individual components and the formation of sub-
jective tones. (Fletcher’s Speech and Hearing.)
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 169
THE DECIBEL
We are now aware of the area of auditory sensations which we
have to mensurate, and we have to decide what is to be our “ yard-
stick” or “degree.” Our task is to try to correlate aural loudness
with physical intensity or energy; and already we have seen that
while the sensation of loudness advances, as it were, by simple addi-
tion, the energy level increases by leaps and bounds on a scale which
extends over almost astronomical magnitudes. This is a cumber-
some relation, and it is clear that there will be a real convenience in
adopting a scale of ratios of energy for our purpose. A similar need
which arose in telephone engineering was met by the introduction of
the “bel,” a name chosen in honor of Alexander Graham Bell, the
inventor of the telephone. One “bel” expresses a tenfold increase
of power or energy; in other words, two intensities in the ratio r:1
differ by (log 7) bels.* It has been generally agreed to adopt the
bel for acoustic requirements also, or rather the “decibel” (db.),
since the “bel” is a little too large for the purpose. We thus have
the following tabular relation :
Ratio (r) of | Number of
intensities decibels
(10 log r)
1 0
10 10
100 20
1, 000 30
10, 000 40
10 13 130
It will be realized that this scale of decibels is in no sense physio-
logical but is based wholly on intensity as measured by physical
methods. The scale has, however, the specific advantages—
(1) Of being a rough fit with the aural scale of loudness sensation.
(2) That experiment shows that the decibel, as above defined, cor-
responds approximately to the least perceptible change in loudness of
a sound of medium loudness under average conditions. In actual
fact the loudness step in question is sometimes a little more and
sometimes a little less than a decibel (ranging from 0.2 to 9 db.)
according to the frequency and the location in the auditory sensation
area.
We are now in a position to set up a definition of the sensation
level of a pure note of specified frequency in physical terms. Our
“degree ” will be the decibel, our “zero” the threshold of audi-
bility for that frequency, and the sensation level of a pure sound
4 Logarithms are to base 10.
170 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
may accordingly be defined as the intensity in decibels above the
threshold of audibility of that frequency.
On this basis experiment shows that for pure sounds of medium
frequency the range of audibility between the thresholds of hearing
and feeling is covered by about 130 decibels. This figure is rather
less for high and low frequencies.
The position, however, is not so straightforward when we come to
the broader question of comparing the loudness of pure sounds of
different frequencies. We find at once that there is no simple rela-
tion of wide application between physical intensity and loudness.
Two pure sounds of different frequencies do not in general pro-
duce the same loudness sensation, even if (a) their physical inten-
sities are equal, or (6) their physical intensities bear the same ratio to
their respective threshold values, i. e., if the sounds have equal sensa-
tion levels. Further, if the intensity levels of two pure sounds of
different frequencies which appear equally loud are increased by the
same amount, the sounds will not in general remain equally loud.
It follows that in the case of sounds of different or mixed fre-
quencies neither the physical intensity level nor the sensation level
can be used as a measure of loudness. In the circumstances we
have to adopt an arbitrary scale as a practical standard, and a suit-
able one for the purpose is the sensation scale of a pure note having
a frequency in the region of 1,000 cycles per second. ‘Then the loud-
ness of any sound, whether pure or a mixture such as noise, is de-
fined as the sensation level (expressed in decibels above the threshold
value) of the standard note which appears equally loud to the ear.
It may be mentioned that zero or threshold value of a 1,000-cycle
scale corresponds to a pressure of about a millidyne per square
centimeter.
It should be reiterated that such a standard scale is quite arbi-
trary and that equal increments on the scale do not in general ap-
proximate very closely to an equal number of sensation steps. Tor
instance, in the case of the 1,000-cycle scale, the step from 0 to 10
decibels corresponds roughly to about 1 perceptible gradation of
loudness under average conditions, the step from 50 to 60 contains
about 10 gradations, and the step from 100 to 110 about 15. In other
words, we may ascend the range of physical intensity lying between
the two thresholds either by the decibel ladder, with equally spaced
rungs, or by the sensation-step ladder, with rungs first widely spaced
and afterwards more narrowly, though more evenly, spaced (fig. 3).
It may be added that, in adopting a practical scale of loudness,
some latitude is possible in the choice of the standard frequency,
in view of the fact that for medium frequencies above 700 cycles
per second there is a constant relation between loudness and sensa-
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 171
tion level. For example, the standard frequency chosen for much of
the work at the National Physical Laboratory is 800 cycles, while
in the United States 1,000 cycles has been largely used.
SPEECH AND NOISE
As already remarked, the masking effect of a background of noise
on the ease of conversation is one of primary interest. Conversation
begins to be difficult when the background of noise reaches 70 or 80
decibels, while at 90 decibels conversation, even by shouting, is
virtually impossible.
It should be remembered that the greater part of the energy of the
human voice is in the low-frequency region. Some 60 per cent of the
energy lies in frequencies below about 500 cycles per second, and about
85 per cent below 1,000 cycles per second. It is known, however, that
the intelligibility of speech rests largely on the high-frequency con-
sonants—say, above 1,000 cycles per second—rather than on the low-
frequency vowels (say, 120 cycles for the male voice and 240 cycles
per second for the female), despite the fact that the low-frequency
components carry the major part of the energy.
Davis and Evans at the National Physical Laboratory have ob-
served that conversation in an inclosure is facilitated if high-pitched
noises are excluded from without. It is fortunate that such notes
can be more readily excluded than low notes, and particularly so,
where limits are set to the massiveness of the walls of the inclosure,
as in an aeroplane cabin. Furthermore, such high notes as gain
entrance are more readily absorbed by mounting absorbent on the
inner walls. (Davis, Journ. Roy. Aer. Soc., 1931.)
As regards the effects of noise on the hearing of speech, Knudsen
found in 1925 that if the interfering sound is a pure note at about
speech level, the interference with speech is almost independent of
frequency, but that for greater intensities low-pitched notes interfere
more than high. He also states that the interfering effect of noise is
greater than that of a pure note whatever the pitch. Figure 4 (due
to Mr. Fleming) summarizes Knudsen’s results on the effect of extra-
neous noise on the intelligibility of speech as interpreted by articu-
lation tests with speech of normal loudness (50 db.). As will be
seen, even a little noise affects speech reception adversely, while a
noise level of some 380 or 40 decibels reduces the intelligibility by an
intolerable amount.
ANNOYANCE AND NOISE
We have already referred to the association of annoyance and
noise, and the question has recently been the subject of experiment.
Precise measurement could scarcely be expected, perhaps, but it is
clear that both frequency and loudness are among the factors which
ae ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
play a part. As to pitch, it is probable that the majority of people
find shrill sounds more offensive than low. They find, for example,
the high-pitched motor horn, to the staccato use of which the Paris
taxi driver is so addicted, more irritating than the lower-pitched
horn which normally obtains in Great Britain. This impression is
confirmed by the work of Laird and Coye (Journ. Acoust. Soc. Amer.,
1929), who found that annoyance is a function of both loudness and
pitch, high pitches being intrinsically more annoying than low or
medium pitches, and very loud high pitches being especially irri-
100 ¥
Good hearing
conditions
80 Satisfactory with
attentive listening
2)
o
&
Unsatisfactory
hearing conditions
Percentage Sylla ble Articulation
i)
o
0 20 40 80 80,
Background of noise in decibels
Exstcet of extraneous noise on intelligibility of speech
of normal loudness (50 db) — Knudsen.
FIGURE 4
tating. In the case of pitches below about 500 cycles per second, the
annoyance was, however, purely a matter of loudness. In this con-
nection it is of considerable interest to note that the range of pitches
which man normally employs in his own speech appears to be the
least annoying to him. The irritation produced by certain tenor and
soprano voices is claimed by Laird and Coye as being in harmony
with their findings.
The annoyance produced by complex noises such as those resulting
from motor horns appears to be largely influenced not only by sheer
loudness but also by the presence of strong high-frequency compo-
nents as well as by strong inharmonic components.
Some such explanation may also account for the fact that al-
though, for example, two fans or two vacuum cleaners may appear
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 173
equally loud by an audiometer test, yet the noise of one may be more
objectionable than that of the other.
THE ABSOLUTE MEASUREMENT OF ACOUSTICAL ENERGY
A standard method of measuring the absolute energy of waves in
general is to absorb them completely in some suitable material and
measure the amount of heat generated. But, even if such absorption
were possible in the case of sound waves, the absolute amounts of
energy in speech and most other sounds of everyday experience
are so small as to be on the border line of the capacity of the most
sensitive heat measuring instruments we have. For example, the
average speech power of the conversational voice is about 10 micro-
watts. ‘This value rises to about 1,000 microwatts for the shouting
voice, falls to 0.1 microwatt for the quietest speech, and to about
0.001 microwatt for the softest whisper. To take an illustration, a
final cup-tie crowd of 100,000 at Wembley Stadium all talking con-
tinuously and rather loudly would provide as much speech-power
as would, if converted, light a smali electric lamp throughout the
game. Alternatively, by the end of the match the acoustical energy
expended would have been sufficient, if transformed into heat, to boil
enough water to make one cup of tea. An especially enthusiastic
crowd which shouted vigorously all the time might similarly manage
10 cups—perhaps enough to fill the challenge cup itself!
There are, however, one or two outstanding examples of acoustic
disturbances in which substantial amounts of energy are involved.
Measurements in New York on ships’ sirens have shown a power
level of about 6 microwatts per square centimeter at a distance of
115 feet, so that the total acoustic energy emitted by the siren would
appear to be about one-third horsepower. King (Phil. Trans. A.,
1919) found an acoustic output of 1.7 horsepower in the case of a
fog siren.
For sounds of ordinary magnitude, however, it is clear that the
outlook for thermal methods of measuring acoustic energy abso-
lutely is not promising, and we must turn to some other property
of the sound waves. The oscillatory variation of the air pressure in
the track of the advancing sound wave, the accompanying minute
changes of refractive index and of temperature, the velocity of the
oscillating air particles, and the radiation pressure exerted on a re-
flecting surface have all been employed. A conversational sound
corresponds to an alternating pressure (R. M.S.) of about 1 dyne
per square centimeter,’ in other words, to a pulsation of one mil-
lionth part of the atmospheric pressure. The change in refractive
5It is estimated that the street noise of New York exerts an average pressure of about
5 dynes per square centimeter and may even reach 20.
174 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
index for such a pressure variation is about one part in a thousand
million, the temperature variation about one one-thousandth degree
centigrade, the particle velocity of the air about one-fortieth centi-
meter per second, and the radiation pressure only some 10-™ of an
atmosphere. The corresponding power is about one one-thousandth
microwatt per square centimeter, it being recalled that the power
(or energy) varies as the square of the pressure and the amplitude.
For the purposes of absolute measurement we are led to look for
a measuring instrument which will give readings independent of
both frequency and wave form of the sound. One of the most con-
venient is the Rayleigh disk, which measures the air or particle
velocity.
The Rayleigh disk (suggested by the late Lord Rayleigh in 1882)
consists of a thin circular disk hanging vertically from its edge by
a torsion thread, the disk being of small diameter compared with
the wave length of the sound to be measured. Such a disk when
placed in a sound field experiences a couple which tends to set the
disk broadside on to the direction of the sound waves, much as a
falling leaf tends to flutter to the ground flatwise instead of edge-
wise. As Konig showed in 1891, the turning couple is independent
of the frequency of the sound concerned, and so we are enabled to
calculate the particle velocity in the sound wave, provided we meas-
ure the deflection of the disk, and the torsional constants of the
system.
If the experimental conditions are such that the sound field is of
known distribution (for example, pure plane or spherical progres-
sive waves free from boundary reflections), the oscillatory pressure
at any point may be readily calculated from measurements of the
particle velocity.
In practice disks of thin silvered glass about 1 centimeter diameter
are often employed, the suspending fibers being of quartz some 15
centimeters long and about 510-* diameter. The disk is mounted
in an inclosure the walls of which are heavily lined with absorbent.
As would be imagined, the Rayleigh disk is a fragile instrument
which is to be regarded rather as an ultimate standard of reference,
the use of which is necessarily restricted to the standardizing labora-
tory. More convenient and robust instruments are essential for
practical purposes, and recourse is usually had to electrical micro-
phones, preferably of a nonresonant type. These translate acoustical
oscillations into electrical oscillations which are amplified by a suit-
able valve amplifier, and so can be conveniently and accurately
measured, provided proper precautions are taken.
A variety of other devices, many of them of the mechanically
resonated type, have also been proposed from time to time as sound
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—-KAYE b75
measurers or recorders, but for a number of reasons their use has
been almost entirely discontinued in favor of electrical microphones,
particularly those of the condenser or electrostatic type.
The condenser microphone consists essentially of a metal dia-
phragm tightly stretched and mounted parallel and very close to a
metal plate, the gap being only about one one-thousandth inch. The
thin section of air inclosed materially adds to the stiffness of the
stretched diaphragm so that its resonant frequency is very high—
usually above the normal range of acoustic frequencies. To the con-
denser formed by the plate and diaphragm a potential difference of
about 200 volts is applied through a high resistance. Sound waves
incident on the diaphragm cause it to vibrate, resulting in variations
of the capacity of the condenser, which, in turn, produces across the
series resistance an alternating electromotive force which can be
readily valve-amplified and so measured, by means of a rectifier
(such as a thermojunction) and microammeter. Alternatively the
wave form may be examined by a cathode-ray oscillograph. The
condenser microphone, though somewhat insensitive, enjoys the ad-
vantage of a fairly uniform response over the acoustic range of
frequencies, and thus provides a useful standard instrument, which
can be calibrated in absolute units.
At the National Physical Laboratory and elsewhere in Great Bri-
tain such calibrations have usually been carried out by direct sub-
stitution with the Rayleigh disk in a simple sound-field. In the
United States, until recently, particular attention has been paid to
calibration by means of the thermophone, an instrument in which
the alternate heating and cooling of a gold or platinum leaf by a
fluctuating electric current produces calculable pressure oscillations
within a small inclosure. It is now generally recognized that these
two types of calibration lead to different results, and that the Ray-
leigh disk is required for the normal use of a microphone in free
air, and the thermophone if measurements are to be made of the
oscillatory pressure in a small inclosure, such as an artificial ear
canal.
THE MEASUREMENT OF NOISE
It was, I think, Lord Kelvin who said that once we find out how
to measure a thing, we begin to learn something about it. As regards
noise, however, it is evident from the foregoing that the question of
its measurement is one of some complexity, involving not only physics
but physiology and psychology. Nevertheless, as far as the physical
aspect goes, it is clearly desirable that there should be a consensus of
opinion on the choice of a system of physical quantities. They
should be preferably of an absolute character, so as to assist inter
aha:
176 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
(a) In translating vague aural judgments and comparisons into
facts and figures;
(6) In elucidating the causes and characteristics of noises;
(c) In comparing the results of different investigators; and
(d) In setting up such arbitrary standards of noise as may be
desired in the light of social, technical, or legal requirements.
The practical measurement of noise usually comprises one or more
of the following operations:
(1) The physical measurement of the “ over-all” power or energy
content of the noise, the result being ultimately expressible in abso-
lute units (e. g., dynes or microwatts per square centimeter).
(2) The physical analysis of the noise into its spectrum of fre-
quency components (cycles per second). This is often most illumi-
Physical Measurement of Noise.
Condenser
tcrophone
Rectif ier
and
Noise Detector
Frequency
Weighter :
(ig desired)!:
Noise to be mae.
measured
1
'
'
!
'
‘
'
'
'
'
'
'
=
'
| Cathode-ray |
at oscillograph |
3
FIGURE 5
nating in tracking down the sources of individual components, par-
ticularly of machinery noises.
(3) The physical determination of the wave form of the noise,
though this is often difficult to interpret and to ultilize quantitatively,
particularly if the noise is aperiodic.
(4) The aural measurement in some accepted unit of the loudness
of the noise, or in other words, the valuation of the “ noisiness”’ as
perceived by the ear—the physiological arbiter of noise.
PHYSICAL MEASUREMENT OF NOISE
We have already discussed the measurement of sound energy by
means of the condenser microphone and amplifier. A schematic lay-
out is shown in Figure 5. The amplified current is connected either
to a rectifier and microammeter (graduated in decibels, if desired)
for measurement purposes, or alternatively to a cathode-ray oscil-
lograph if it is desired to examine the wave form. In view of the
fact that the microammeter readings are measures of physical in-
tensity and not of loudness (owing to the selective sensitivity of the
ear to pitch), a frequency-weighting network is sometimes inter-
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—-KAYE £77
polated in the circuit with the object of approximating the results
more closely to the average aural interpretation. The weighting
curve may conveniently be chosen for a loudness corresponding to
that of a 1,000-cycle tone at 30 to 40 decibels above the threshold of
audibility. (Free, Journ. Acoust. Soc. Amer., July, 1930.)
If it is desired to analyze the noise, this may be effected by in-
corporating electrical tuning or band-pass filtering devices into the
circuit and so determining in turn the amount of energy associated
with individual components or bands of frequency. It is not always
possible, however, by such means to get sharp selectiveness, but, in
any event, we have to recognize that as yet our knowledge is not
sufficiently general to enable us to correlate exactly the overall loud-
ness of a noise with the energy or loudness of its constituents.
It is possible to construct microphone and amplifier units which
are reasonably portable, such as that developed by Davis at the
National Physical Laboratory.
SEARCH-TONE METHODS OF NOISE ANALYSIS
The question of the practical analysis of noises which are reason-
ably periodic has been much facilitated by the introduction of search-
tone methods, which in general enable sound to be more conveniently
analyzed and with higher selectivity over a wide frequency range
than is possible by the method of tuned circuits.
When search-tone methods are employed the noise to be analyzed
is received in a microphone, the current of which is amplified and
“ mixed ” in a valve-rectifier or modulator with that of a pure search
tone of constant intensity and variable known frequency from a
heterodyne oscillator. As a consequence, the modulated current con-
tains not only the search tone but also the summation and difference
tones formed from the search tone and the various individual con-
stituents of the noise. For example, if the frequency of the search
tone is S and that of a particular constituent of the sound is C, the
frequencies of the summation and difference tones so formed will be
(S + C) and (S — C), respectively.
One way of revealing the existence of either of these tones is to
apply the modulated current to a highly selective mechanical reso-
nator, such as a steel bar capable of vibrating longitudinally. Then,
as the search frequency is varied continuously, the bar will begin
to resonate whenever either (S + C) or (S — C) becomes equal to
the natural frequency of the bar. As we know §, we can evaluate C,
and, further, the degreee of response of the bar, which is observed by
suitable means, will give us a measure of the energy in the constitu-
ent in question. In practice S may range from, say, 11,000 to 16,000
cycles per second, while the natural frequency of the bar may well
178 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
be of the order of 16,000 cycles per second for the summation-tone
method and 11,000 for the difference-tone method. (Moore and Cur-
tis, Bell System Techn. Journ., 1927.)
Griitzmacher (Elek. Nach. Tech., 1927; Zeit. Tech. Phys., 1929)
uses, instead of a mechanical resonator, a low-pass filter arranged
to transmit frequencies less than about 380 cycles per second (fig.
6). It follows that, in the great majority of cases, both the search
tone and all the summation tones are ruled out, and only those differ-
ence tones with frequencies less than 30 cycles per second will pass
the filter and be recorded by an appropriate amplifier and detector.
Thus, as the search frequency is continuously varied, the detector
will only respond when the frequency is within 30 cycles per second
of that of a constituent tone of the noise. The magnitude of the
detector reading can be made to afford a measure of the intensity of
Microphone (exposed to
noise under analysis)
Low Pass
Filter.30~
Ainplifier
i = [mes &
Rectifier AG)
Search
Frequency
Generator
Fieurm 6.—Griitzmacher’s search-tone method of analyzing complex
sounds
the component in question. In the outfit at the National Physical
Laboratory the frequency of the search tone is varied from, say, 30
to 10,000 cycles per second by the rotation of an air condenser
through 180°.
AURAL MEASUREMENT OF NOISE
As we have already seen, if we are provided with a standard pure
note of medium frequency (above 700 cycles per second), the loud-
ness of which is variable at will over a range which has been cali-
brated by physical means, then we can evaluate by aural matching
or equality the loudness of any other pure note or, in general, of any
complex note. Alternatively, measurements may be made of the
loudness of the standard note which is just masked or drowned by
the sound to be measured.
Figure 7 shows schematically three types of audiometers which all
work on the above principle and have been much used for loudness
measurements at the National Physical Laboratory and elsewhere.
In the Siemens Barkhausen audiometer® a standard note of about
800 cycles and of a high degree of purity is produced_by an electric
6 Barkhausen, Zeit. Tech. Phys. vol. 7, p. 599, 1926.
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 179
diaphragm buzzer. An attenuator regulates the current through
the telephone receiver, which is applied to one ear, while the other
ear listens to the external noise. The instrument, which as supplied
is graduated in phons,’ can, with a little modification, be calibrated
Barkhausen Audiometer.
Aural matching or masking of a bu33zer note
Ear ‘phone
Electric Buszer
(800 cycles per sec) [| Attenuator
Noise to be Other
measured
Western Electric Audiometer.
Aural matching or masking of « valve- oscillator note.
‘Ear phone with
off-set cap
Valve-oscillator
(64 Fo 8192
cycles per sec)
|__| Affenuater
Noise fo be
measured
enlers same ear
Gramophone Audiometer.
Aural matching or masking of a warbler nole.
Ear ‘phone with
off -sef cap
Warbling
Gramophone Record
aud electrical
Pick -up.
1g desired),
eee eee eee ~
Noise fo be
measured
enfers same ear
FIGuURH 7
(as already described by means of a condenser microphone and an
artificial ear channel) in dynes per square centimeter above a zero
of a millidyne per square centimeter. The Barkhausen audiometer
is compact and readily portable.
7A phon corresponds to a fourfold change of energy, i. e., to a loudness change of 6
decibels.
149571—33—_13
180 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The Western Electric audiometer offers a choice of eight standard
pure notes from 64 to 8,192 cycles per second generated by a valve
oscillator. (An electric buzzer is used in an earlier model first
adapted in 1925 from an audiometer primarily developed for the
measurement of hearing.) The instrument is graduated in steps of
5 decibels. The telephone receiver is provided with an off-set ear
plate, so that the noise to be measured enters by the same ear as is
applied to the telephone receiver.
In a third type of audiometer, the valve oscillator is replaced by a
gramophone record and electrical pick-up. This also will furnish at
will a selection of from three to six different pure notes of high,
medium, and low frequency, or, if preferred, of “ warbling” notes,
the frequency of a complete warble being about six times a second.
In practice, a 3-band warbling record may have the following fre-
quency limits: 1,500-5,600, 750-1,500, and 250-750 cycles per
second. With this audiometer, also, the same ear is normally used
for both the standard note and the noise to be measured.
With all the various types of audiometer, the reading is best ap-
proached by a series of progressive comparisons alternating on either
side of the critical value. When making measurements one should,
as it were, try to focus on loudness, and endeavor to ignore such fre-
quency differences as there may be. Unless one ear is abnormal, it
does not seem to matter a great deal for ordinary requirements
whether the standard note and the noise enter by the same ear or
by different ones.
If a noise contains only two or three major components, one ob-
server may be tempted unconsciously to match on one component,
whereas another observer will seize on another component, with con-
sequent disagreement in their results. In such cases there may be an
advantage in having a choice of frequency for the standard note.
In general, however, experience indicates that most people find
themselves able after a little practice to obtain fairly consistent re-
sults with even the simpler forms of audiometer, at any rate with
noises which are more or less continuous. On the whole, masking
results are easier to obtain than matching or equality values. In
the United States, masking results are usually preferred, affording
as they do a measure of the degree of “ deafening” or the raising
of the threshold limit for the particular frequency or band of
frequencies used.
CLICKER EXPERIMENTS ON NOISE MEASUREMENT
The writer was led in 1929 to make some rough experiments on
noise measurement, by the aid of a flexed steel-strip “clicker,” such
as 1s sometimes used by lecturers. The note of the clicker is high
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 181
pitched and surprisingly penetrating, and can be heard in quiet sur-
roundings nearly 1,000 feet away. The masking range of audibility
was determined under a variety of conditions. In an airplane cabin
or near a pneumatic road breaker or a riveter, the range shrinks to
2 or 3 feet, while near an airplane engine the range is only a few
inches. On the somewhat doubtful assumption of the inverse square
law, the clicker confirmed the fact that the interior of a tube train
(75 to 80 db.) is appreciably louder than that of an express train
traveling at about 60 miles per hour—even in the corridor with some
of the windows open (70 db.). It is, of course, common knowledge
that it is difficult to converse and listen in a tube train, but not dif-
cult in an ordinary train with the windows closed, particularly in a
first-class carriage, with its more generous upholstery. The cabin of
an airplane in a cross-channel flight was found to be at least one thou-
sand times (30 db.) noiser than an express train, although the ply-
wood cabin walls cut down the noise of the engine one hundredfold
(20 db.). The preference exercised by knowledgeable passengers for
seats in the rear of the cabin rather than in the region of the side
propellers was confirmed, there being some 10 decibels difference.
It was found that the customary practice of airplane passengers to
plug their ears with cotton wool resulted in a reduction of the noise
experienced by about 10 decibels.
For the longer ranges of audibility the assistance was invoked of
a friend or any one else available, the interest of the general public
being at times a little embarrassing.
TUNING-FORK MEASUREMENTS OF NOISH
A very convenient and portable means of measuring noise has been
suggested and used by Davis at the National Physical Laboratory.
(Nature, January 11,1930.) A tuning fork is struck in some conven-
ient standard manner—against the heel of the boot will do quite
well, and no unusual care is necessary. The fork is then held with the
flat of the prong toward the opening of the ear and as close as
possible without actually touching. The time of striking the fork is
noted, and the interval of time is observed until the loudness falls
to the level of the surrounding noise. If desired, the time interval
before the note of the fork is masked by the noise can also be meas-
ured. The rate of decay of the fork is calibrated in decibels by a
buzzer or other type of audiometer. As the decay of the loudness
of a fork is practically logarithmic, the calibration curve of decibels
against time is roughly linear. Readings are facilitated in practice
if, as the fork is approaching the matching value, it is moved to and
from the ear, so that its sound is alternately louder and softer than
that of the noise.
182 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1934
A particular fork used by Davis had a frequency of 640 cycles per
second. Its loudness when it was struck was about 90 decibels and
the rate of decay was about 114 decibels per second. Noises as high
as 110 decibels were measured by means of masking observations.
Davis has used the method for determining the loudness of a vari-
ety of noises over the range of hearing, and obtained results which, as
will be seen from Table 1, are in good agreement with audiometer
measurements by American observers.
RELATION BETWEEN THE LOUDNESS VALUE AND THE MASKING
VALUE OF NOISES
As the masking effect of a noise is dependent on its composition,
theoretically it is in general not possible to associate the loudness
value of a noise (as determined either physically or by aural match-
ing) and the masking value as determined aurally by one or the other
of the available audiometers. As a practical fact, however, it would
appear that for most of the ordinary complex and fairly continuous
noises of everyday life, the loudness value exceeds the masking by a
fairly constant difference, which tends to increase somewhat for
louder noises, or for those of an intermittent staccato character.
(Williams and McCurdy, Journ. Amer. Inst. Electr. Eng., Septem-
ber, 1930, and Galt Journ. Acoust. Soc. Amer., July, 1930.)
For normal street and interior noises the New York commission
found that on the average the loudness value exceeded the medium-
frequency masking value by about 15 decibels. For a very loud noise
(90 decibels), such as the intense cheering of a large crowd, it would
appear from the report that the two values differed by 20 decibels.
Davis (loc. cit.), in his tuning-fork experiments, found a like dif-
ference for a loudness of 110 decibels. He also refers to an approxi-
mately linear relation between masking and matching values for
moderately loud noises.
In the case of measurements of airplane-propeller noises of very
high intensity made for the Aeronautical Research Noise Subcommit-
tee by the National Physical Laboratory the two values differed
by about 20 to 30 decibels, though it will be realized that measure-
ments at such intensities are necessarily somewhat rough.
EXAMPLES OF NOISE MEASUREMENT
Some simple illustrations of the measurement of everyday noises
may be of service.
The loudness of speech ranges between about 40 and 60 decibels,
an ordinary conversational tone being about 50 decibels. If, how-
ever, the lips of an average speaker are within one-half inch of the
ear of a person with normal hearing, the latter will receive the speech
at a level of about 100 decibels. An average motor horn sounded
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 183
about 20 feet away illustrates a loudness of about 80 decibels. ‘Twins
crying together are only 3 decibels louder than one crying alone.
Another way of increasing a noise by 3 decibels is for the observer to
move 30 per cent nearer (that is, when in the open air). Another
20 per cent (that is, halving the distance) and the total gain will
be 6 decibels.
Loudness Levels of Common Noises
Decibels above
Threshold
Noisy aeroplane cabin
In the aeroplane Pneumatic road drill
very noisy
In ube Frain (London)
In Phe frain
noisy
Very busy Vraffic (London)
in sfeam Frain (window open)
In bhe street
3 Ordinary couversation (3 fF)
average)
In quiet saloon car (30 m.p.f.)
In the home Suburban street
(quiet)
Quiet garden (suburbs)
In Phe counter
(very quiet) Quiet whisper (sft)
Threshold of hearing
FIGURE 8
Figure 8 shows a kind of “noise thermometer ” of common noises
ranging up to 100 decibels—a level! which is unlikely to be exceeded
in everyday experience. Some broad general groupings of noises
are indicated on the left. Above 50 decibels the scale is differenti-
ated as containing in general those noises which we should do well to
endeavor to moderate as far as it may be practicable to do so, and
we can perhaps regard this figure as a kind of “ temperate ” level
on our noise thermometer.
184 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Table 1 contains a collection of loudness levels (rounded to the
nearest 5 decibels) of various noises as determined in this country
by the National Physical Laboratory and in the United States mainly
by the New York Noise Commission (the figure for the medium
frequency test note being selected). Certain points of general inter-
est are discussed below:
Table 1 includes a variety of traffic noises both in London and
New York, and, as far as it may be possible to draw a fair com-
parison, it would seem that a street in New York is on the average
about 10 decibels noisier than a like street in London. Although
there are thoroughfares in London where at times a barking dog
would not be heard 20 feet away, there are traffic centers in New
York where, as the commission has pointed out, a tiger could roar
indefinitely without attracting the auditory attention of passers-by.
It is stated that certain street corners in New York are normally
noisier than anywhere so far discovered in the world; for example,
the corner of Sixth Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street, which rejoices
in three main streets, three tramcar lines, a double-track line of the
elevated railway and the subway (underground). The arch sinner
is the elevated railway, and nothing, I imagine, is less likely than
that London will ever allow anything approximating to an overhead.
railway to override its streets.
The New York commission found that the ebb and flow of noise
from hour to hour closely parallels the density of the traffic, at any
rate up to a figure of 50 vehicles per minute.
Some diminution of the traffic noise heard would naturally be
expected in the higher stories of a building, but the effect is largely
nullified, if there are high buildings on both sides of the street.
In such cases, even with skyscrapers, appreciable relief only comes
to the stories just above the first setback. Wise travelers book bed-
rooms on the twentieth floor upward in certain hotels in New
York and Chicago.
TABLE 1.—Loudness levels of various noises
TRAFFIC NOISES
Average
decibels
Source Location or distance above Observer
thresh-
old
Very busy. traffic, JN epwily orks 2.25 sets ease es peered a aoe eared 75 | Free.
Very busy. trafic, su0nG0n eee ee oe ea eee ne ee eee ee 70 | Davis, N. P. L.!
Busy traffic, New York ____--- ae Bah eal oe _ Te i ae Se ee eo 70 | Free.
Busy traffic, London--___- ps Yi Sok Maite RE prety A Gi sts WEI leh ET 60 avis, N. P. L.
Quietistreet, New Yorks j2:.-0ee. 022 ao 2) Soe ees cee Bee es 60 | Free.
QUISE Ste E MOM OTN eee eee re eee en ee eae te cea ts ee ee 50 | Davis, N. P. L.
Quiet:residential street,.New iY orkes. =~ se4| 51 se see: ee ee a eee 40 | Free.
Quiet suburban street, London-_-__----------|------ pT re ates GE ta ener hy Ny 30 | Davis, N. P. L.
Quiet:suburban, garden; London 222% 42220) | eee es ee ee ee 20 Do.
1 National Physical Laboratory.
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE
185
TABLE 1.—Loudness levels of various noises—Continued
ROAD TRANSPORT NOISES
Source Location or distance
British:
Mramgonavery DOSY Tallses = a2 ssa NStReO t= see eae hoe ee ee
PUTA FOMOPCO-DUSILOD sees se eee eee eee CO eee ere ee ee
BUS; -LOCeNt bYPOse sae sae ee ae Interiors scassace ie soe ee araee
MiOtOMCar Ue haese a ene eee IStreetsca- 2 as ooc ces esscscas=
Salon car, average 25 miles per hour___-- Interior eases er eee ee Fares
Salon car, average, 35 miles per hour___-_|____- (6 (obese es Nene ae ee hie iak de Sh
Salon car, quiet, 35 miles per hour___---|_____ G0 eee ks eee
American:
New York street car (tram) _.....------- 10-15 feetsz.222- SSeS
ID Osan eee se ee shee Interior
Motor lorry, average..------------------
IMotoricarnaverigean aes
IVEOCORICAr OMe beee ae oe en ee ee
Horse vehicle, paved street__.----------
Horse vehicle, asphalt street__--.---___-
FOTSeNLTOtLinge seer sae a eee
IMotorbormi(British)2e22 2 ees
Motor horn (New York) 2-22-2222 - 2222.
Directed at microphone_____----_-_-
Motor horn (New York), in street
Police whistle (New York)_-----_ -----
Policewhistlet=222-2-2 22 bee sh Se 1575 CCS b eos noe ee
MISCELLANEOUS NOISES
General:
Gonversation test = see ee ae ae ee ea Se i ee
Wihisperin casa e ae See eee DCG eee eee ee ee een
Applause (New York), Lindbergh_____- myer O Wee eee wea Ee ee
Restaurants (London) Tnterior: ttt ek 2 reas PS ae ace
EL VPIStS NOOR eee eee ae ey eS ee Se | Ce a Re ead
@hurch; ballsMaes.- eee ete eS TQO00MECEES Seba 2 ee a eee
Rung er. ae ee ok eS 1—-Srmilest =. 2b = 2
Animals:
Lion roaring (New York Zoo)-_-_------- 18 feet 2 e-tae 3 Se eS e
Siberian tiger roaring 222 =40- 22 eos 4 leet Be See ete yeiie s
Bengaliticer'snarling=s.25-2_2 ee. ee 15 feet: 22228 oe ee
Dogibarking)in' streetat. -22 28 seks 20 feeti2 eee ORS se Se
VERY LOUD NOISES
General:
IRULV OLIN Gea eee Sie Le Sa ee
Pneumatic drill____._--__-
Printing-press room
Steamishipisiren= = a ee eee
IDO MESSE DERVIS ES eae ena
Steamipile-driverses= sso
Hammering, building
Niagara: Halls:3- = 22-222 Sse 2 ee =| PINOISIeSt SPO taaassee ane cena
Airplanes:
Jriqo Pan) Ghat ee a A = ee AOMCCt He sawn ces Soe a
DOSES SN fu eek ees 1Sifeet steed fen: = Ni eees ecb
Airplane cabins, variows_-_.--.-----_.-- PN GCLION see ne ne oe eee ee
AInplane Ca DiM asa ss eae ee ete er eee (0 {oY as nae et
salrplanespini tight 2-2 eases ess ee 31000 feet 5s re eee eed
TRAIN NOISES
British:
EX PLeOSS Caine ae ee eee ne L2HCeLh see sane see eee ere
Express train, 60 miles per hour____---__ In corridor, windows open------
Train, windows Opeu--2-—---- = ane jay Hoy a (0) seek pa aa a ae ad
Train, windows shut, third class__.._-__|____- 06 (0 ee ee ee Oe eee
Train, windows shut, first class__._-_-__|____- (8 eed lsat, Oks od ale ee ee E
Train, windows shut, first-class sleeper _|_____ GOS wae Boo oe NE or Bat
Suburbantelectniewrainstartingesess ss |e ee eae eee een ee nee eee
ALibestrainy @eondon) sso 2— se ee imperlors.4ste22- oe 3 8.2 ee
Tube train_....- Bi 5 fe se a5 ie sae al moe (ed ial (0 (0) pea 5 eh A aot ae ee tal
2 Average.
Average
decibels
above
thresh-
old
Observer
Davis, N. P. L.
Do.
Kaye, N. P. L.
Davis, N. P. L.
Do.
Do.
Kaye, N. P. L.
Galt.
Parkinson.
Galt.
Davis, N. P. L.
Fletcher.
Davis, N. P.L.
Galt.
Galt.
Do.
Davis, Ne Pak.
Davis, N. P. L.
Parkinson.
Wavis, Ne els
Evans, N. P. L.
Parkinson.
Galt.
Davis, N. P. L.
Kaye, N. P. L.
Do.
Davis N. P. L.,
Do.
Kaye, N. P. L.
Davis, N. P. L.
Do.
Kaye, N. P. L.
186 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
TABLE 1—JLoudness levels of various noises—Coutinued
TRAIN NOISES—Continued
Average
decibels }
Source Location or distance above Observer
thresh-
old
America:
ixpress| (limited) strain =22s-s5-s-2s25"=- Interior Pullman car_..--.------ 60 | Parkinson.
Suburban trains! =. eee PMU OTIOR ee ae ee et ee 65 Do.
New York subway, express_------------ 1525 eCt 3 = aoe 95 | Galt.
1 Yo} shes at oy A eR Cece ae POG ODOM eee ee 95 | Parkinson.
New York subway local___----.-------- G=30ifee te oe ee ee ee 90 | Galt
New York elevated train__-...-_-_----- T5-2OMGEE ae ee a eee 90 Do.
Que braa ta Biri at ane eel ae EA Interior]. 7 sae Shee Pe ee eee 75 | Parkinson.
In American Pullman railway car (Parkinson):
3 decibels increase in noise for 10 miles per hour increase in speed.
5 decibels increase in noise by opening window.
5 decibels increase in noise when passing another train.
10 decibels increase in noise in tunnel.
5 decibels increase in noise in corridor.
5-10 decibels decrease in noise when berths are made up.
REFERENCES:
Davis, Journal Royal Aeronautical Society, 1931.
Free, Journal Acoustical Society of America, 1930.
Galt, Journal Acoustical Society of America, 1930.
Parkinson, Journal Acoustical Society of America, 1930.
Figure 9 (due to Galt, Journ. Acoust. Soc. Amer., 1929) shows
masking measurements of crowd noises obtained by the use of a
3-band warbler audiometer on the occasion of Lindbergh’s arrival in
New York after his Atlantic flight. The observers were on the fifth
floor, about 110 feet from the street. The masking effects of the
noise produced by the crowd’s welcome as Lindbergh passed are
pronounced—quite sufficient, in fact, to mask the sound of a brass band
not many yards distant. It is clear that here is a quantitative
method, as Mr. Galt remarks, by which footlight and other favorites
of the public can periodically assess their popularity !
As regards the individual components of traffic noise, it would
seem from the limited data available that British and American
tramcars do not on the average differ appreciably as regards noise.
The same remark probably holds for motor cars. It is of interest to
note quantitative evidence that a modern car at moderate speed is
quieter than a horse vehicle on a paved street.
Among the contributory factors to traffic noise are motor horns,
into the noisiness and stridency of which an inquiry of a restricted
character was undertaken in 1929 by the National Physical Labora-
tory on behalf of the Ministry of Transport. Observations were
made in a closed chamber with heavily lagged walls. Both physical
and aural methods of measuring noise were employed, cathode-ray
oscillograph records being also made of the average wave form. It
appeared from the limited observations that stridency was bound up
largely with sheer loudness, but that strong high-frequency com-
ponents, strong unrelated notes, and any marked starting character-
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 187
istics were among the probable contributory factors. It was not
found possible to correlate stridency with wave form. The spectra
and wave forms were obtained of a particular electric klaxon with
alternative types of noise, an electric buzzer, an Enelish bulb horn
(reed type), and a French bulb horn (reedless). In some of these
cases, the characteristics were substantially modified by adjustment
of the horn.
The New York Noise Commission arrived at much the same con-
clusions. ‘They regard horns with sound levels in excess of about 90
decibels when heard 23 feet away, as unnecessary and objectionable.
They find that complaints of stridency are unlikely to arise when
1 Brass Band
Masking in decibels
i28 256 Siz ip24 2048 4096 8192
Frequency (cycles per sec)
Crowd Noises measured H0 feel away.
FIGURE 9
fundamental frequencies lie between 200 and 300 cycles, when the
overtones are all harmonics of the fundamental and share the energy
evenly, and when there is an absence of strong high frequencies.
As regards trains, the noise levels of express and suburban trains
in England and America seem to be not unlike for a similar class
of accommodation. The American method of dividing up Pullman
sleeping-cars partly by means of heavy curtains seems, despite its
other drawbacks, to result in a noise level comparable with that of
our own more secluded first-class sleeping berths. In such circum-
stances, however, much depends on other factors, such as the good
fitting of doors and windows, which restrict noise admission.
With reference to underground railways, the New York subway
stands in a class apart for noise—as anyone who has traveled by it
will testify. Our own tubes appear to be at least 10 decibels quieter,
though questions of speed may come in.
188 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Among the loudest things one is likely to encounter are the noises
of riveting, pneumatic road drilling, steamship sirens, and printing
presses. More untoward events are lions and Niagara Falls, which
can apparently roar equally loudly (85 decibels).
But the arch offender of all is the airplane engine at close quarters
(110 decibels). The noise in the cabins of airplanes in flight ranges
between 80 and 110 decibels, according to the type of machine. The
noise of the propeller is probably the dominant factor, though engine
exhaust and general engine clatter run it close, and all three must
be seen to if an improvement is to be apparent. ‘There are, however,
good prospects that the noise in airplane cabins will presently be
substantially reduced (possibly to that of a railway train) by using
propellers with lower tip speeds, providing more effective silencers
on the exhausts, reducing engine clatter by inclosing the engines, and
constructing cabins of double walls containing a suitable filler. In
this connection, see Davis (Journ. Roy. Aer. Soc., 1931).
PROTECTION FROM NOISE
The best way of securing protection from noise is to quiet it at its
source. This is much more effective than trying to control it later.
For example, machines may be enclosed or better balanced, or better
shaped, and mounted on insulating materials.
As regards traffic noise, a great deal of the more objectionable
noise is due to vehicles which are ill-cared for and in bad condition
or badly loaded. Indiscriminate horn-blowing is not, I think, a
characteristic British trait.
Where there is considerable traffic noise, much can be done to add
to the comfort of a building by creating sound shadows, and by archi-
tectural ingenuity in providing “ buffer ” rooms, a recent example of
which is afforded by the new Headquarters of the British Broadcast-
ing Corporation.
The protective shielding by buildings is well illustrated by the
sylvan quietness of inclosed quadrangles, such as the Inns of Courts,
which are in close proximity to noisy streets. The bedrooms opening
on an hotel courtyard are usually much quieter than a room on the
outside of the building, though sometimes the domestic quarters are
so situated as to nullify the advantage.
NOISE-PROOFING WALLS
There are two main practical methods for insulating an inclosure
against air-borne noises:
(a) By using single nonporous rigid walls or partitions.
(6) By using multiple partitions as independent as possible and
separated by air or some kind of loose filling.
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 189
In the case of the single rigid type of wall, the weight is the
primary factor, the insulation value (in decibels) being proportional
to the logarithm of the mass of the wall per square foot of area.
Prisoners in the castle dungeons of old could not have been greatly
troubled by air-borne sounds! Figure 10 illustrates the measure-
ments of Davis and Littler at the National Physical Laboratory.
Their results, together with those of Knudsen, the Bureau of
Standards, and others on single partitions, are summarized in
60
Double fibre Board
peniter. 0:0.2
42 Brickworks
50-4
Double fibre Board 3
«colton waste filling |. 9.9.2
Double fibre Board]
(on framework
2° Mahogany
fae
Ay. Fibre Board et
BD ee ey “00,1
Sound Reduction (Decibels)
Transmission Rabio
Sailcloth (N°!) ;
Sailcloth (N22) |
Paper as
350 500 {000 2003 5000
a Frequency of Tes!’ Nolte (cycles per second.)
Ficurn 10.—Insulating values of various materials for notes of different
frequencies. (Davis and Littler)
Table 2 for a medium frequency (512 cycles per second). The insu-
lation values are in general rather less for low frequencies and rather
more for high frequencies. As panels transmit sound mainly by
diaphragm action resonance effects may come into operation at low
frequencies, but under normal conditions are probably of secondary
importance.
As a rough working rule, doubling the mass increases the insula-
tion value by about 5 decibels, though resonance effects may spoil
the relation.
In the case of porous flexible materials Knudsen states that the
insulating value is proportional to the mass of the wall per square
190 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
foot of section rather than to its logarithm. Often a combination
of the porous flexible material and the rigid dense partition is
advantageous.
It may here be mentioned that for the stages of talking-film studios
insulation values of from 50 to 70 decibels are aimed at according
to the circumstances.
As regards multiple partitions, they should be wholly free of cross-
ties, that is, completely isolated from one another, if the combina-
tion is to be any better (as it may be) than one single partition of
the same over-all thickness. Whether or not a loose filling materiai
should be sandwiched between the panels is a matter for experiment,
as such a filler may or may not be beneficial. On the one hand, it
may act as an absorbent and a damper of vibration, and on the other
it may serve as a tie.
TABLE 2.—Sound insulation values of rigid single partitions for air-borne sounds
Mass per| Reduc- || Mass per} Redue-
square tion of square tion of
foot of | sound in || foot of | sound in
wall area | decibels || wall area | decibels
Pounds Pounds
Fel 9 10. 0 38
2 14 20. 0 43
a) 20 1 40.0 48
1.0 24 60. 0 51
2.0 29 100 0 54
5.0 33
1 414-inch brick wall.
The question of protection from structure-borne noises is one to
which it 1s hoped attention may be paid in the new sound laboratories
which are to be erected at the National Physical Laboratory, as
there is need for systematic experiment. Heterogeneity and dis-
continuity appear to be of value, and loose fillers may prevent the
drumming of resonant panels or walls which is often an accom-
paniment to such vibrations and may result in pronounced sound
emission.
In many houses the windows are the chief offenders in admitting
external noises. Sound-proof construction would be greatly simpli-
fied if windows could be abolished. This, of course, is not to be con-
templated, but we can at any rate use substantial windows of thick
glass. Opening a window even a little will, of course, largely nullify
the benefit of noise shielding and absorbing devices. Within limits
the amount of sound admitted by a crack or opening is proportional
to its area. In the case of a door or window affording, say, 30
decibels insulation, a crack with an area one one-thousandth of that
of the door would admit as much sound as passes through the door
or window.
MEASUREMENT OF NOISE—KAYE 191
Figure 11 (due to Norris) shows the progressive increase in the
noise level in a room when a window opening on to external noise
was gradually opened. It will be noted that a small opening may
produce a large effect.
Noise Leve/
With Varying Wingew Opening
R
In laches
9
enin
&
a
Height of Winogow Op
A
/ 72 x] 4 5 6
Qecibe/s Worse Level
FIGurRE 11
Finally, considerable advantage may accrue in preventing noise
which has gained entrance into a room from building up into a high
&0
Walls non-abserben!?
(Reverb® period 5 sec)
P
“a
= 60
&
oO
ic?)
xs
£ 40
=
.
a Wails rendered absorben?
= 20 (Reverb? period I sec)
Vins 256 Sle. (024 2048 4096 si92
Frequency (cycles per sec)
Figure 12.—Room noises
level of reverberant sound, by lining the walls and ceilings with
absorbent materials. Certain banks and business houses in the city
(London) already employ the plan with advantage. I understand
192 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
that many houses in New York line the roofs of their entrance
porches with acoustic absorbent, deriving, it is stated, beneficial
effects.
Figure 12 (due to Galt) illustrates the effect on masking measure-
ments (made by a 6-band audiometer), in a room subjected to traffic
noise, of lining the walls with absorbent. As will be seen, the mask-
ing value was reduced by about 7 decibels on the average, corre-
sponding to a reduction in the reverberation period of from 5 seconds
to 1 second.
THE AGE OF THE EARTH AND THE AGE OF THE OCEAN?!
By ADOLPH KNOPF
I. THE AGH OF THE EARTH: SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL RESULTS
At the beginning of the present century the problem of the age of
the earth was envisaged as requiring the reconciliation of three inde-
pendent estimates, all of the same order of magnitude. These esti-
mates were G. H. Darwin’s, of 57,000,000 years, based on the separa-
tion of the moon from the earth; Lord Kelvin’s, of 20,000,000 to
40,000,000, based on the secular cooling of the globe; and Joly’s, of
80,000,000 to 90,000,000, based on the rate of accumulation of sodium
in the world ocean. To these should be added Helmholtz’s estimate
of 22,000,000 years, based on the source of the sun’s heat and its
probable duration.
Shortly after the opening of the century the discoveries of radio-
activity destroyed the foundations on which the principal physical
methods of estimating geologic time had previously rested. These
discoveries, however, gave us methods based on atomic disintegration
which soon indicated that geologic time is ten to twenty times as long
as had been deemed probable from the estimates previously con-
sidered most trustworthy. These methods appear to involve far
fewer assumptions than the geologic methods for measuring time,
and the problem as we now see it is to reconcile estimates differing by
a whole order of magnitude. In short, the radioactive evidence indi-
cates that post-Cambrian time, 1. e., from Ordovician onward, is
450,000,000 years, a span that is easily reconcilable with the geologic
evidence, and that the age of the earth is at least 2,000,000,000 years,
an estimate which, although not incompatible with the geologic
evidence, is less readily reconcilable.
The oldest method for determining the length of geologic time is
based on the thickness of the strata that accumulated during that
time. Estimates of this kind have been made many times, but as
our knowledge of the earth increases the known thickness of the
strata has steadily increased. Schuchert now finds that the maximum
thickness of strata on the North American continent deposited since
Pg ony by permission from Bulletin of the National Research Council, No. 80, June,
193
194 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
the beginning of Cambrian time reaches the immense total of 259,000
feet. Of this great pile, 111,000 feet were deposited during Paleozoic
time, 86,000 during Mesozoic, and 61,000 during Cenozoic. The
aggregate thicknesses of strata on the other continents have never
been assembled, but it is believed that eventually the pile of strata for
the world will total 400,000 feet. To translate this thickness into
years, even approximately, is still an unsolved problem. A mean
rate of deposition that will hold for all strata can not be ascertained,
and the most that can be expected is a mean for each basin of depo-
sition. Even for limestones, which on the average take longer to
accumulate then either muds or sands, the rate can not be determined.
It is therefore impossible in the light of present knowledge to check
by means of the sedimentary record the time determinations that are
based on radioactive disintegration. Schuchert therefore accepts the
estimate of 500,000,000 years, which is based largely but not wholly
on the radioactive evidence, as the best estimate we have for the
span of time since the beginning of the Cambrian, and shows that
the evidence of the strata can be harmonized with it. The data
based on radioactivity indicate that the ratio of Cenozoic time to
Mesozoic and Paleozoic is as 1:2:5; this ratio would require that
one foot of sandstone be deposited in 450 years, one foot of shale
in 900 years, and one foot of limestone in 2,250 years. These mean
rates of deposition are faster than any heretofore used in similar
estimates and are thought to be nearer the actual figures.
Some evidence is beginning to appear that the rates at which
sediments were deposited in individual basins of sedimentation can
be determined, and these rates will afford valuable checks on the
determinations of geologic time that are based on atomic disinte-
gration. Such measurements become possible where the strata show
that they have been deposited by annual increments, each annual
increment consisting of asummer and a winter lamina. The couplet,
or annual layer, is called a varve. The difficulty in any given series
of strata is to prove beyond question that the layers are annual—are
really “ varves” in fact. By counting the varves in the Green River
formation, Bradley has recently estimated that this formation was de-
posited in a period lasting between 5,000,000 and 8,000,000 years. As
the Green River formation appears to represent about one-third of
Kocene time, this estimated great length of the Eocene, which is
one of the shorter of the geologic time-periods, harmonizes well with
the evidence from rodioactivity.
By counting the varves of the Bannisdale slates, which are 5,000
feet thick, Marr? calculated that these slates were deposited in
2Marr, J. E., A Possible Chronometric Seale for the Graptolite-bearing Strata. Palaeo-
biologica, vol. 1, p. 161, 1928; see also Deposition of the Sedimentary Rocks, p. 105, 1929,
AGE OF EARTH AND OCEAN—KNOPF 195
700,000 years (1 foot in 140 years). With this asa basis, he estimated
that the Ordovician and Silurian together required 13,000,000 years
for their deposition. Although the assumptions made in reaching
this final result are admittedly large, yet we can agree with the
author that “ extended use of this method may lead to some approxi-
mation to the order of magnitude of the geological periods.” Ap-
parently we are on the threshold of obtaining some reliable measures
of the duration of geologic time from the evidence of the strata
themselves.
Schuchert has summarized the biologic evidence bearing on the
question at issue and concludes that from the rate of organic evolu-
tion there can be no way of determining the length of geologic time.
Another way of measuring geologic time is based on the amount of
sodium in the ocean. Given the amount of sodium washed each year
into the ocean and dividing this quantity into the total amount in the
ocean, there is obtained “the age of the ocean.” The figure thus
obtained, by Joly and by Clarke, in round numbers 100,000,000 years,
has an apparent high accuracy, enhanced moreover by the fact that in
reaching this figure corrections amounting to a few per cent were
applied. Two large assumptions underlie the whole method;
namely, that the rate at which sodium is supphed to the ocean has
been constant throughout geologic time, and that the sodium has
steadily accumulated in the ocean. Both assumptions are known to
be untrue. The rate of erosion, or more specifically the rate of
solvent denudation, has varied widely throughout time owing to
varying size and height of the continents and to changing climatic
conditions. The present rate of solvent denudation is probably
much higher than the average rate during geologic time, but how
much higher is beyond the present power of science to evaluate.
Furthermore, the sodium washed into the ocean, it is beginning to
appear, does not all remain dissolved but is in part removed by ad-
sorption and base exchange with the newly deposited sediments.
As we now see it, the problem of the age of the ocean based on the
accumulation of sodium is not whether we can apply corrections
of a few per cent to the estimate of 100,000,000 years, but whether
this estimate is of the right order of magnitude.
The methods of age determination based on radioactive disin-
tegration involve the least number of assumptions. They are ex-
plained by Kovarik and Holmes. The methods are based ultimately
on the fact that the radioactive elements uranium and thorium dis-
integrate spontaneously at constant determinable rates and yield
a stable product, lead, whose atomic weight varies according to the
proportion contributed by its radioactive parents. The disintegra-
tion of uranium (and thorium) proceeds according to the laws of
149571—33—_14
196 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
a monomolecular reaction, as first pointed out by Rutherford, and
if the disintegration constant is accurately known, the age of a
uranium-bearing mineral can be readily and accurately determined,
according to the fundamental equation,
Ago=j,'s(log U,—log U)
where
Ty =half-life period of uranium.
U,=amount of uranium originally present.
YU=amount of uranium now present.
In practice, however, a number of difficulties are met. Practically all
uranium-bearing minerals contain more or less thorium; therefore the
fundamental equation must be modified to take this into account. All
equations heretofore used in age computations have been approxima-
tions. Furthermore, it can not be assumed, as has been tacitly done
in the past, that no common lead was originally deposited in the ura-
nium mineral at the time it was formed. Kovarik has developed
an accurate formula, which takes account of the possibility that
common lead may have been initially present in the mineral that is
being used as a geologic chronometer.
In building up a geologic time scale in years based on atomic disin-
tegration, the following conditions should obtain:
(1) The mineral must be unaltered, i. e., not changed by leaching
by surface waters, or by other external processes since it was origi-
nally formed.
(2) The contents of U, Th, and Pb must be determined. Prefer-
ably these elements should be present in considerable amounts, so
that the analytical errors will be minimized.
(3) The atomic weight of the lead should be determined, on lead
obtained from the material analyzed for U, Th, and Pb.
(4) The geologic age of the mineral should be known.
Very few determinations—seven at most—fulfill these requisites.
In fact, it has only recently been recognized that these requisites must
be rigorously fulfilled, and many currently accepted age determina-
tions rest on shaky foundations. It is probable that in the future two
more conditions will have to be met: (1) The material should be
radiographed, in order to determine its homogeneity, and (2) the
ratio of actinium to uranium should be determined.
The determinations of ages in years that meet the critical re-
quirements are given in the subjoined table. The age deter-
mination based on the thorite of Brevik, Norway, should on
rigorous application of our criteria be excluded, because of the
very small amount of lead analytically found, and the possibility
that some of the lead was removed by leaching. The computa-
AGE OF EARTH AND OCEAN—KNOPF 197
tions are based upon the value of the half-life period of uranium
(Ty =4.56 X 10° years) that appears on critical scrutiny to be the most
trustworthy yet determined. ‘There is some uncertainty as to which
of two is the better value for the half-life period of thorium, and so
both were used in preparing the following table and the results are
given in parallel columns.
Geologic age determinations based on the lead method (in years)
Age (millions of years)
Geologie age Mineral Locality
Based on Based on
Tu=4.56X109 Tu=4.56 X10°
T rr=1.28X10!0 | Tr, =1.65>< 1019
Marly Bermian=<---—+ -5-=_- Thorite-...| Brevik, Norway-..------- 224 310
atest Campriane ses soe) = KOSS Siwedensen senate. feet 450 see ce et acree ee
Pre. Cambrianissa=se- Broéggerite_| Karlhus, Raade, Norway- 915 910
TD Xo). seat pet cect kia Cleveite__--| Aust-Agder, Arendal, Nor- 967 964
way.
UD) QW een ee nes ee dorcsee Satersdalen, Norway-_----- 986 965
1D (oe ee ee Sle ee Uraninite-_-| Keystone, S. Dak__-_----- 1, 465 1, 462
Oya Reng = Fie ees (Bee (6 (ee Sinyaya Pala, Carelia, 1, 852 1, 852
Russia.
Except for the mineral high in thorium (the thorite from Brevik,
Norway), it is essentially immaterial which of the two values for the
disintegration constant of thorium is taken. Only one of the sub-
stances whose age has been accurately determined by atomic disinte-
gration, the kolm of Sweden, is precisely dated by the geologic evi-
dence; distinctive fossils occur in the kolm and prove it to be of
latest Cambrian age. The age determination of the kolm is there-
fore by far the most important yet made. As to the pre-Cambrian
minerals, they can be only vaguely located as to their positions in
the pre-Cambrian. The bréggerite from Karlhus, Raade, near Moss,
Norway, is believed on a tenuous correlation to be middle or late
pre-Cambrian, and the uraninite from Keystone, S. Dak., on which
some of the finest of chemical work has been done, is thought by
Paige to be late pre-Cambrian, and by Wright and Hosted to be
early pre-Cambrian, but the geologic evidence adduced for either of
these positions within the pre-Cambrian is inconclusive.
The uraninite from Sinyaya Pala, Carelia, Russia, appears to be
the most ancient yet found, 1,852,000,000 years. As this uraninite, as
well as that from Keystone, S. Dak., occurs in pegmatite dikes that
are intrusive into older rocks, it must be concluded that the age of
the earth is, in round numbers, at least 2,000,000,000 years. As to
how much older it is, there is no substantial evidence either from
geology, radioactivity, or astronomy. By a method first used by
H. N. Russell, Holmes, with the aid of better geochemical data, re-
duces Russell’s estimate of 11,000,000,000 years to 3,000,000,000
198 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
years as a possible upper limit, but this result is more interesting
than conclusive.
Kovarik treats also in brief the possibility of age determination
based on the helium that is formed by radioactive decay and discusses
the features known as pleochroic halos, or radiohalos, as Hirschi
argues they should more appropriately be called. Both these mat-
ters, however, are considered in ampler detail by Holmes in Part IV.*
In Part IV * Holmes deals exhaustively with the application of
radioactivity to the measurement of geologic time. Practically all
the available information—geologic, mineralogic, and chemical—has
been assembled and critically evaluated. It will be seen that this
information has already attained an astonishing bulk. It is clear
that the field bristles with problems. Much of the work already
done is only of suggestive value, owing to the lack of correlation be-
tween the geologic, analytical, and atomic-weight investigations.
Probably the phenomena of radioactivity that come oftenest to the
attention of the geologist are the pleochroic halos. They are here
discussed in detail and the problems that they evoke are fully dis-
cussed. Although the halos are known to be effects of alpha particles
ejected from radioactive inclosures in certain minerals, their actual
mode of growth is not fully understood. Joly believes that they
are of centripetal growth, but Schilling, working on the superbly
developed halos in the fluorite of Wélsendorf, has demonstrated be-
yond much doubt that they are of centrifugal growth. Some halos
have been formed by the cumulative effect of alpha particles ejected
at the rate of but one a year. In pleochroic halos we have a means
of detecting radioactivity ten million times more sensitive than elec-
trical methods. Halos can not be used to determine the age of
minerals, although Rutherford and Joly tried to do this for the
biotite in a Devonian granite. But they had to guess the value of
one factor in their calculations and, as has well been said, one might
therefore as well guess the final answer. The fact of great import to
the theory of age determination based on radioactivity that emerges
from the study of the halos is that the rate of disintegration of
“uranium ” and “thorium” was the same in pre-Cambrian time as
it is now. This reassuring conclusion on the constancy of the rate
of disintegration of uranium during geologic time is particularly
the result of the work of Kerr-Lawson, who developed an improved
technique in his investigation of the halos in biotite from a pre-
Cambrian pegmatite in Ontario.
The results of Holmes’s world-wide survey of the data on age
determination by atomic disintegration are summarized in Table
LXXXII*° The lead ratios are listed in numerical order, and the
3 Of the bulletin referred to in footnote 1 on the first page of this article.
|
|
f
|
AGE OF EARTH AND OCEAN—KNOPF 199
table gives the present status of the geologic time scale as expressed in
lead ratios.
Despite the fact that at present many of the lead ratios listed in Table
LXXXII* are individually weak, they are nevertheless so consistently compat-
ible with each other from end to end that as a whole they provide a most
convincing demonstration of the method.
In Part V * Brown discusses the age of the earth from the point of
view of the astronomer. The conclusion is reached that there are
no known methods derived from astronomical data alone for esti-
mating the age of the earth. The estimate based on atomic disin-
tegration (210° years) is consistent, however, with the astronom-
ical probabilities.
Il. THE AGE OF THE OCEAN
THE PROBLEM
The age of the ocean is usually estimated by dividing the total
sodium content of the ocean by the amount of sodium newly brought
to it each year by the rivers of the world. The assumptions that
underlie this procedure are: (1) There was no sodium in the primeval
ocean; (2) the sodium washed into the ocean has been steadily accu-
mulating, the amount lost by precipitation being negligible; and
(3) the annual increment determined from present-day data has been
constant throughout geologic time.
THE SODIUM OF THE PRIMEVAL OCEAN
No definitive answer can be given as to the amount of sodium in the
primeval ocean. In fact, the problem is linked with our ideas on the
origin of the planet. If the earth grew by the accretion of cold
planetesimals according to the hypothesis of Chamberlin, the ocean
must have grown slowly in size and probably in salinity. If, how-
ever, it condensed from a gaseous state, the ocean was born when
the temperature fell below the critical temperature of water, 374° C.,
and may have contained chlorides that were condensed or formed by
the attack of hot hydrochloric acid on the crust at that time.
Joly (1899) has attempted to evaluate the amount of sodium
chloride present in the “primeval” ocean, that is, the salt present
in the ocean at the time it formed from the condensation of the
gaseous envelope of the globe. The subtractive correction thus ob-
tained amounted to 12.5 per cent of his estimate of the age of the
ocean. F. W. Clarke, distinguished for his work on the age of the
ocean by the sodium method, ignores this phase of the problem.
The great chemist, Lavoisier, considered the ocean to be the wash
water of the globe. Many, however, including most German au-
*Of the bulletin referred to in the footnote 1 on the first page of this article.
200 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
thorities, hold that the ocean has had essentially its present salinity
from the beginning. Indeed this belief unconsciously tinges the
whole philosophy of paleontology in regard to the origin of life as
well as the development and evolution of marine invertebrate life.
Tt will be seen that the problem of the amount of salt in the ocean
at the beginning of geologic time is highly hypothetical. As, how-
ever, it will be shown that the age of the ocean as determined by
sodium accumulation can not be used as a check on the far longer
span of time indicated by the methods of atomic disintegration, it
will be unnecessary to dilate on the question of the primeval content
of sodium.
THE ANNUAL INCREMENT OF SODIUM
The total quantity of sodium in the ocean is accurately known,
far more so than the other factors involved. From the data given
by Clarke (1924)* it is computed to be 1.609 X 10%° metric tons.
Clarke estimates that the total amount of salts carried annually
to the ocean is 2,735 X 10° metric tons. This figure is obtained by
multiplying the area of the globe that drains to the ocean (40,000,000
square miles) by the average amount of dissolved matter supplied
by each square mile (68.4 metric tons).
Average elevation
‘Tons per
square
miles Feet | Meters!
Noxth, Americas 2252522 2S ee eee Cet ae eee 79 2, 300 700
SouthyAmericans 25.9 LOE ea 2a Se ae ee ee 50 1, 900 580
Biro pe =. 2/3 sat 2 a ee ee ee 2 ee bees ee eee ees 100 980 300
IAS Ty Sto Se St es Ea Fee ae 0 Fr ee ee Oe ee 84 3, 120 950
CATT COE ies Bet AEE 2 Ree See oe ae 2 are re ae es ee ee eee 84 2,120 650
Weighted: average: -2.- 2-20 cs 2221S... 28S Sui ee 6854". S22 sen |beecesee ==
1 Washington, H.S., Bull. Geol. Soe. Amer., vol. 33, p. 392, 1922.
The data for North America are good; for Europe they are less
accurate ; and for the other continents hardiy more than guesses. Lane
(1929) has recently shown that even the data for North America
need revision, as the method customarily used in estimating solvent
denudation gives results that are probably between 60 and 300 per
cent too high. By multiplying the total run-off of a river by the
chemical load obtained from one or more analyses of river water
during low or medium stages, the fact is neglected that as a rule
the great part of the run-off of a river is during the floods, at which
time the dissolved load is at a minimum. By taking into account
*Clarke uses in his computations the figure 1.41310 tons, which is based on an
oceanic volume of 302,000,000 cubic miles. He accepts the estimate of 327,700,000 cubic
miles by Kossinna as more accurate, but has not changed his computations; the difference,
however, does not substantially affect the following arguments.
AGE OF EARTH AND OCEAN—KNOPF
201
this factor, Lane shows that the age of the ocean might be as much
as three times the length usually estimated by the sodium method.
The coeflicient of solvent denudation obtained by Clarke, 68.4
metric tons, does not differ much from that which Reade got in his
pioneer attempt, 100 tons. Of this 68.4 tons, 5.79 per cent is sodium.
Therefore, the quantity of sodium carried each year to the ocean is
1.58 10% tons. Dividing this amount into the total oceanic sodium,
we obtain as a first approximation to the age of the ocean according
to the sodium method, 100,000,000 years.
The quantity of sodium annually delivered to the ocean, however,
is not all a new addition to the amount already there. Part of it
has been there before: this part is the so-called cyclic sodium. The
most obvious form in which cyclic sodium occurs is as salt spray
that has escaped into the atmosphere, has been carried inland, and has
returned by the way of precipitation and drainage. Opinions differ
sharply as to the corrections that should be applied for the wind-
borne sodium. Joly allowed 10 per cent. Becker, by assuming
that the wind-borne sodium chloride becomes nil at 20 miles inland,
allowed 6 per cent, and Clarke follows him. Holland, however,
has shown that in Rajputana, India, salt is carried inland 500 miles
by the wind. Moreover, long extended series of determinations of
the chlorine in the precipitation at Mount Vernon, Iowa, which is
1,500 miles from the Pacific coast, 1,200 miles from the Atlantic
coast, and 800 miles from the Gulf, prove that salt may be carried
great distances inland in quantity sufficient to account for all the
chlorine shown by river-water analyses. The average of several long
series of determinations by Wiesner, Knox, Artis, and Peck is 7
parts per million. The maximum amount in any one rain storm was
21 parts per million. Hendrick’s recent result (1927) is somewhat
lower, being 5 parts per million, but his maximum—121 parts per
million—is much higher than any previous maximum. It would
be interesting in future determinations to correlate the chlorine
content with the origin of the storm that brought the precipitation,
whether from the Pacific or the Gulf coast. Inasmuch as two-
thirds of the precipitation evaporates and passes into the atmosphere
practically free of chlorine, the other third, the run-off, should con-
tain three times as much chlorine as the average amount in the pre-
cipitation. Asa matter of fact, the drainage of the Central States
does not carry so much chlorine, and consequently there is an unex-
plained discrepancy.
That portion of the sodium which is balanced by chlorine, the
chloridized sodium, as it is called, may therefore be excluded as
being cyclic sodium. As shown later, this exclusion is not wholly
justified, as part of the chlorine in the precipitation is of volcanic
202 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
origin and is probably a new contribution to the atmosphere from
the interior of the earth.
The average composition of the dissolved matter in the fresh waters
of the globe, as estimated by Clarke, is shown in the subjoined table:
Gow has bi SR ae DY ae Sir aul Na ke eters SE eR aS 5.79
SQgo Pug aal t5 $0 ad i ike, Alien ee ity 2.12
Ca ha PINS i TN BBS). (ess) 60s it Be ae 2.75
IN hg oot waa ere ke hay hah yn. 7 ASI Oe aeRO a 2 11. 67
ne ee Sees, ee ge ree 20. 39 a
i ea teen Lag pA ve, aha otal ont PUR 100. 00
The ie, oh sodium in the dissolved matter is 3.68 per cent
(6. E8ve= se) The unchloridized is therefore 2.11 per cent; and on
7 45
the assumption that this portion alone represents the sodium newly
washed to the ocean each year, the annual increment of sodium to the
ocean is 2.735 X 10° X .0211, or 5.7710" tons. Dividing this amount
into the total oceanic sodium (1.609 x 10'° tons), we obtain 270,000,000
years as the maximum estimate of the age of the ocean. Clarke’s
estimate, after allowing for wind-borne sodium, human contamina-
tion, and for disseminated salt of marine origin, in all amounting to a
correction of 10 per cent, is 99,143,000, or in round number 100,000,000
years.
The sodium content of the ocean, according to Clarke (1924, p. 32),
has been derived from the decomposition of 84,300,000 cubic miles of
average igneous rock containing 2.83 per cent of sodium. In so far
as this estimate is based on the sodium content of the average igneous
rock, it is approximately accurate, because the amount of sodium in
the common rocks that make up the earth’s crust does not vary much
from Clarke’s estimated average; in the two preponderant varieties
of igneous rock, granite and basalt, it is 2.41 and 2.31 per cent, respec-
tively. If we admit that the sodium in the ocean has been derived
from this 84,300,000 cubic miles of igneous rock, we are faced by a
great dilemma. For this volume of igneous rock contains only 0.05
per cent of chlorine and therefore can have supplied at most 2.82 X 10"
tons of chlorine to the ocean. The chlorine content of the ocean is
2.9210 tons, however. In other words, only 1 per cent of the
chlorine in the ocean can have been supplied by the volume of igneous
rock that is estimated to have yielded the sodium. Essentially the
same argument was used by Mackie in 1903 in a penetrating analysis
of Joly’s method of computing the age of the ocean, an analysis to
which insufficient attention has been given.
To account for this enormous discrepancy we may suppose: (1)
That much more igneous rock than 84,300,000 cubic miles has been
decomposed and that the sodium thus liberated and carried to the
AGE OF EARTH AND OCEAN—KNOPF 203
ocean has been in part lost to the ocean, whereas the chlorine has
steadily accumulated; (2) that the primitive ocean may have con-
tained chlorine; or (8) that the chlorine has been supplied through-
out geologic time by volcanic emanations, which are known to con-
tain HCl, NH,Cl, and other chlorides.
The supposition that a vastly greater volume of igneous rock than
84,300,000 cubic miles has been decomposed appears to be disproved
by the following considerations. The volume of sedimentary rock
that would have been formed from the decomposition of the
84,300,000 cubic miles of igneous rock is 108,000,000 cubic miles.
If this volume of rock were spread over the continental platforms,
which are 66,000,000 square miles in extent, it would make a layer
9.6 km thick. That it can be inferred from the field evidence that
such a layer would probably be thicker than is the actual existing
discontinuous layer of sedimentary rocks was pointed out by Van
Hise, who was inclined to regard 2 km as a high estimate and 1 km as
probably nearer the truth. If, in fact, 1 km is nearer right, it
strengthens the growing belief that a considerable volume of sedi-
ments has been deposited in the deeper parts of the ocean and has
thus become lost to the continents. At any rate, the rough agree-
ment between the computed volume of sedimentary rocks and the
inferred volume on the continents strengthens the hypothesis that
the sodium in the ocean has been largely supplied by erosion of the
lands.
Some sodium is lost from the ocean by the formation of glauconite,
for analyses of glauconite show up to 3 per cent of Na,O. The so-
dium thus lost would appear to be small, however. Sodium is also
lost by the formation of albite (NaAISi,O,) in limestones and dolo-
mites (Spencer); but the amount thus lost, while more than com-
monly suspected, is probably small.
A much greater loss of sodium is due to its removal from the ocean
by adsorption and base exchange. Comparison of average analyses
of clays shows that marine clays contain much more soda than fresh-
water clays, which difference is interpreted by Stremme as due to
adsorption of sodium from the water of the ocean. That adsorption
or base exchange actually occurs at the bottom of the ocean is indi-
cated by the strong increase in the soda content of the palagonite
formed by alteration of basaltic glass—the soda content has increased
from 1.83 to 4.50 per cent. Chamberlin also has strongly argued
for the importance of adsorption in removing sodium from the ocean.
The properties of the artificial compounds known as permutites
appear to be highly significant to the problem of the removal of
sodium. The sodium permutite has the composition Na.O-Al,O,-
4Si0,-xH.0; when hard water is run through a filter of sodium
204 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
permutite the calcium is removed by substitution for the sodium and
the water is thus softened. When all the sodium is eventually re-
placed, the filter ceases to soften the water. The permutite is then
regenerated by running a concentrated solution of NaCl through the
filter, which is then ready to soften more water. These reactions take
place according to chemical equivalents and the law of mass action.
Ganssen has shown that the so-called soil zeolites present in soils
are identical with the permutites. By erosion the materials of the
soils are carried to the ocean. Here they come in contact with what
is essentially a strong solution of NaCl and the opportunity for base
exchange is afforded. Eventually they settle out and become consol-
idated to form the sedimentary rocks.
From these considerations it follows that much of the sodium in
shales is probably of adsorptional and base-exchange origin. There-
fore, since shales make up 50 per cent of the sedimentary rocks and
sedimentary rocks cover three-fourths of the globe, much of the
river-borne sodium has already been in the ocean; it also is cyclic
sodium. From Stremme’s comparison of fresh-water with marine
clays it appears that one-half of the sodium in the shales may be
due to adsorption and base exchange. Stremme’s interesting results,
however, need confirmation.
Some salt has been removed from the ocean by the deposition of
the salt beds that occur in the geologic column from Cambrian time
onward. Although these deposits are vast in quantity (8% 10'* tons
being estimated by Darton for the salt in the Permian beds of the
American mid-continent region alone), yet they are negligible in
comparison with the total amount in the ocean (4.1 10'* tons).
Although, then, the loss of sodium by precipitation to form salt
beds has been negligible, yet the loss by adsorption and base ex-
change appears to have been sufliciently large to vitiate computations
on the age of the ocean, especially in the precise forms given these
computations by Joly and Clarke. The problem of the age of the
ocean by sodium accumulation is not the validity of corrections of a
few per cent to the estimate of 100,000,000 years, but of whole orders
of magnitude.
Other sources of sodium chloride in river water are: (1) Human
contamination; (2) salt in the sedimentary rocks, which has been
entrapped in them at the time they were formed on the floor of the
ocean; and (8) the gases emitted from volcanoes during eruptive
activity. Of these sources only the volcanic emanations are pos-
sibly new contributions to the ocean. Chlorides are freely emitted
at certain volcanoes, chiefly hydrochloric acid, though the chlorides
of sodium and potassium are abundant. Vesuvius, for example, is
often covered after an eruption with a white mantle of chlorides of
AGE OF EARTH AND OCEAN—KNOPF 205
potassium and sodium. How much of the volcanic chlorides is a
new contribution and how much, if any, is “resurgent” is not
known. Recent opinion, indeed, inclines to the view that this
chlorine is a new contribution from the primitive earth-stuff. Zies
(1928) shows that it is highly probable that—
the discharge of acid gases from volcanoes is at least of the proper order of
magnitude to supply the additional chlorine which is characteristic of the
ocean as compared with the rivers.
Tf this is true, as it seems lLkely to prove, some of the chlorine found
in river waters must be of volcanic origin, but how much has not
been estimated.
RATE OF CHEMICAL DENUDATION
The amount of sodium that is annually supplied to the ocean is
influenced by at least four factors: (1) The composition of the rocks
of the surficial portion of the earth’s crust; (2) climate; (8) area of
the continents; and (4) height of the continents. These factors
have all varied during geologic time, and therefore the rates of
supply of sodium to the ocean must have varied. It is generally con-
ceded that the present rate is abnormally high, some surmises being
that it is as much as fifteen, or even twenty, times the average for
all of earth’s history (Barrell). But this conjectured rate applied
to the aggregate rate of denudation, i. e., mechanical plus chemical
denudation, and just how much the present rate of chemical denuda-
tion exceeds the average rate of chemical denudation for all of geo-
logic time has not yet been quantitatively established.
CONCLUSION
On account of the many hypothetical and unsolved factors that
enter into the determination of the age of the ocean by the sodium
method, it can not be used as a check on other methods. The most
that can be said is that the estimate of 100,000,000 years for the age
of the ocean is probably a minimum.
REFERENCES
Artis, B.
1916. Nitrogen, chlorine, and sulphates in rain and snow. Chem. News,
vol. 118, pp. 3-5.
BARRELL, JOSEPH.
1917. Rhythms and the measurements of geologic time. Bull. Geol. Soe.
Amer., vol. 28, p. 749.
Brecxrer, G. F.
1910. The age of the earth. Smithsonian Mise. Coll., vol. 56, No. 6,
pp. 1-28.
BEHREND, F., and Bere, G.
1927. Chemische Geologie, p. 391.
206 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
CHAMBERLIN, T. C.
1922. The age of the earth from the geological viewpoint. Proc. Amer.
Philos. Soc., vol. 61, pp. 266-270.
CLARKE, FEF. W.
1924. The data of geochemistry. U. S. Geol. Surv. Bull. 770, 5th ed.,
pp. 150-155.
HENDRICKS, R. W.
1927. Analysis of the precipitation of rain and snow at Mount Vernon,
Iowa. Monthly Weather Rev., vol. 55, p. 368. Also personal com-
munication.
HOLLAND, T. H.
1914. Discussion on the physiography of arid lands. Rep. British Assoc.
Adv. Sci., pp. 363-371.
JOLY, J.
1899. An estimate of the geological age of the earth. Sci. Trans. Roy.
Dublin Soc., ser. 2, vol. 7, pp. 23-66.
LANE, A. C.
1929. The earth’s age by sodium accumulation. Amer. Journ. Sci., ser. 5,
vol. 17, pp. 342-346.
LEITH, C. K., and Mrap, W. J.
1915. Metamorphic geology, p. 73.
MACKIE, WILLIAM.
1903. The saltness of the sea in relation to the geological age of the
earth. Edinburgh Geol. Soc., vol. 8, pt. 2, pp. 240-255.
Peck, EH. L.
1917. Chem. News, vol. 116, p. 283.
SPENCER, EK.
1925. Albite and other authigenic minerals in limestone from Bengal.
Mineralog. Mag., vol. 20, pp. 3865-387.
STREMME, H.
1922. Die Verwendung der Bauschanalysen klastischen Gesteine zu geo-
logischen Vergleichen unter besonderer Berticksichtigung des Buntsand-
steins. Zeitschr. Deutsch. Geol. Ges. B Monatsber., vol. 74, pp. 276-291.
Zirs, E. G.
1928. The acid gases contributed to the sea during volcanic activity.
Journ. Washington Acad. Sci., vol. 18, pp. 511-512.
A CONTRIBUTION TO THE GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF
THE NORTH ATLANTIC REGION?
By Prof. ALBERT GILLIGAN, D. Sc., F. G. S., M. I. Min. E.
I. INTRODUCTION
There may be said to be two main branches of geological investi-
gations—the physical and the biological—not, of course, that these
can be regarded as independent or divorced from each other, but to a
certain point they can make their contributions independently. For
a full history, the physical and the biological changes must be known
and their mutual relationship understood. It seems possible, how-
ever, that the physical history of the earth is likely to be known in
much greater detail than that of the fauna and flora, for the “ dry
lands,” tenanted as they undoubtedly were by various forms of life,
have left behind a record which can be fairly well traced on the
physical side but will always refuse to yield up all its secrets on the
biological side, since only rarely have the land animals and plants
been preserved by a lucky chance in the rocks accumulating at the
time of their existence.
The permanence of continents and ocean basins has long been a
subject of controversy. Lyell, in his Principles of Geology, makes
reference to the early ideas of the Mediterranean peoples on this
subject, while Lyeli himself was of opinion that continents and ocean
basins do change places in the course of ages.
This idea was early challenged by both physicists and biologists.
The physicists, led by Lord Kelvin, regarded the general framework
of the earth as having been fixed in very early times, and Kelvin
considered that the oceans and continents may have been mapped out
in the original nebula from which the earth had condensed.
R. T. Chamberlin, in his book on the origin of the earth, favors
a very early delineation of the present distribution of land and
water, since he ascribes it to a time when the earth was still receiving
planetesimal material in quantity and “ growing up.” The bases of
his arguments are the effects produced by atmospheric circula-
tions, which in the embryonic earth had the same position and im-
1 Presidential address delivered Noy. 23, 1929. Reprinted by permission from the Pro-
ceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, vol. 21, pt. 4, January, 1931.
207
208 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
portance as they now have, and effected the separation of the hghter
and heavier planetesimal material, the heavier being brought down
by descending currents over the oceans and the lighter being dis-
tributed over the present land surfaces. In this way he assigns a
cause for the generally accepted idea of the higher specific gravity of
the material of the ocean floors and the lighter material of the
continental areas.
As a consequence, the suboceanic segments were habitually urged
to sink, while the continents were forced to rise to restore equilibrium.
This constitutes an enduring, though not an indefinitely enduring,
basis for isostatic action, because the actuating differentiation is
deeply inbred in the formation of the earth. Lyell had already
pointed out that, with trifling exceptions, land is always antipodal
to water upon the earth, and, in the language of Chamberlin, the
heavy, relatively rigid, suboceanic cones stand opposite to the lighter,
weaker, yielding continents. Only one twenty-seventh of the land
of the globe has land antipodal to it.
The theory of the tetrahedral plan of the land and water upon the
earth, as originally set forth by Lothian Green, also supports the idea
of continents and oceans having existed for long periods in much
the same positions as they occupy to-day. Other writers have sup-
ported the theory of the permanence of continents and ocean basins,
and Russel Wallace in his Island Life brings forward biological evi-
dence in support of this theory. He tabulated a number of points
which went far, as he thought, to prove it, but recent researches do
not support his original contentions.
In order to explain the known distribution of animals and plants
in past and present times, land bridges of greater or lesser magni-
tude and permanency were erected by investigators, by means of
which the fauna and flora could have migrated from one land mass
to another.
In the case of the present North Atlantic, which is my immediate
concern, an excellent paper was written by Doctor Scharff, On the
Evidences of a Former Land Bridge between Northern Europe and
North America. In this he concludes, from the known distribu-
‘tion of plants in North America, Greenland, Faroes, Iceland, and
the British Isles, that plant migration has taken place in both direc-
tions along a land bridge connecting North America with Europe
by way of the islands named. According to Scharff this bridge
must have existed in later Pliocene times.
Professor Gregory, in discussing this trans-Atlantic connection,
refers to the fact that remains of three mammals, the mammoth,
musk ox, and reindeer, occur in northeastern America and north-
western Europe, but their passage across this land bridge is not
GEOLOGY OF NORTH ATLANTIC—GILLIGAN 209
definitely proved, since they have not been found fossil in Iceland;
and neither the mammoth nor the musk ox has been found in the
Scottish highlands. In explanation he suggests that all Iceland now
above sea level may have been ice-clad at the time, and that they
passed over on land now submerged.
II. EVIDENCES OF RECENT SUBSIDENCE IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC
REGION
The geographer royal of France, Tassin, some 250 years ago pro-
duced a map in which the sunken land of Busse or Rockall, now only
a rock, is shown, and which is said to have been coasted by one of
Frobisher’s ships for three days.
In 1897 W. Spottiswode Green made a scientific expedition to
Rockall, and he reported finding deep water on all sides, while the
bank on which Rockall stands has an average depth of about 100
fathoms. Dredging on the bank yielded only such shallow water
species of mollusks as could not have lived there under present condi-
tions. All the specimens were dead, and Green argued that the bank
must have subsided in comparatively recent time. In 1900 a Danish
expedition reported finding littoral mollusks at considerable depths
where these animals could not possibly have lived. The suggestion
has been made that these animals may have been brought to their
present positions by icebergs, but no icebergs reach Rockall at the
present time.
Sir Archibald Geikie, in considering the distribution of the Ter-
tiary basalts over the North Atlantic area and the manner in which
they are now cut off by high vertical cliffs where they reach the
coast, came to the conclusion that much foundering of the original
continuous sheets must have taken place.
ATLANTIS
The theme of Atlantis has proved most attractive, and, as Profes-
sor Gregory pointed out in 1929,? it has been placed by different
writers not only in some region of the Atlantic itself but also in each
and every one of the bordering lands. The subject was brought
prominently before the scientific world by Pierre Termier, of the
Geological Survey of France, in a paper read before the Institut
Oceanographique of Paris on November 30, 1912. In that paper he
recalls the dialogue in the Timeus of Plato. The story had been
handed down to Plato from Solon, who lived 600 years before the
Christian era, and Solon is said to have heard it from an Egyptian
priest at Sais, at the head of the Nile delta, during his visit to that
country. Plato did not live to finish the work, so that all we have is
2 Presidential address to the Geological Society of London. (See bibliography, p. 222.
210 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
a fragment, as is also the case with the New Atlantis of Francis
Bacon.
In the Atlantis of Plato we are told of a great island lying in
the Western Ocean beyond the Pillars of Hercules. It was inhabited
by the descendants of Poseidon, or Neptune, to whom Atlantis had
been given when the whole earth was divided out among the gods.
Plato gives a most detailed account of the form of the island, which
was circular and surrounded by two other zones of land separated
by zones of water.
Termier says:
We may smile in reading the story of Neptune, but the geographic descrip-
tion of the island is not of the sort one jokes about and forgets. The de-
scription tallies well with what we would imagine to-day of a great land
emerged in the region of the Azores, a Jand formed from a basement of ancient
rocks bearing, with some fragments of whitish calcareous terranes, extinct
volcanic mountains and lava flows, black or red, long since grown cold.
The white, black, and red of Termier refer to Plato’s statement
that these were the colors of the rocks quarried in the island for
building purposes. The story goes on to say that the land sunk
beneath the waves in a single night.
Termier points out that
Near Gibraltar the depth is 4,000 meters: then it rises suddenly to Madeira
and drops again to 5,000 meters between Madeira and the southern Azores.
it reascends again at least 1,000 meters in the neighborhood of these latter
islands, remains for a long distance between 1,000 and 4,000 meters to the
south and southwest of the Azores with very abrupt projections; some of which
approach very nearly to the surface of the sea. It then plunges to more than
5,000 and for a short distance to even more than 6,000 meters, rises again
suddenly in a bound which correspcends with the pinnacle of the Bermudas,
remains buried under 4,000 meters of water to within a short distance of the
American coast, and finally rises again in a steep acclivity towards the shore.
He further alludes to the well-known fact that the eastern part
of the Atlantic from Tristan da Cunha, through St. Helena, Ascen-
sion, Cape Verde Islands, the Canaries, Madeira and neighboring
isles, the Azores, and the whole of the northeastern Atlantic from
Antrim to Iceland, Jan Mayen, and Greenland are either active
centers of voleanicity or have recently been so. The volcanic zone of
the eastern Atlantic is comparable in all respects to that which bor-
ders the west of America, and like it, is geographically related to
the marine depths which run parallel with them. The volcanoes of
the Pacific are in genetic relationship with the down-sagging of the
floor of the Pacific, and the median wrinkle, upon which lies these
volcanoes in the Atlantic, may be looked upon as a mobile zone
moving upward in equilibrium with the depression of the deeps on
either side.
GEOLOGY OF NORTH ATLANTIC—GILLIGAN Pit
That it is the scene of active earth movement at the present time is
evidenced by the great earthquake which affected Lisbon in 1755,
when the center of the disturbance lay off the coast of Portugal and
the waters overwhelmed the quay at Lisbon, drowning some 30,000
people.
Termier lays great stress upon the finding of tachylyte, the glassy
form of basalt, at a point about 500 miles north of the Azores and
at a depth of about 1,700 fathoms. In dredging for a broken cable
in 1898 the grappling irons were found to be scored and scratched as
if they had been drawn over the ragged edges of freshly broken
rock, and on one occasion some splinters of the glassy tachylyte
were found adhering to the irons. These are now preserved at the
Musée de l’Ecole des Mines at Paris.
As he rightly points out, had this lava been erupted and cooled
under atmospheric pressure, then the outermost part would form
a thin selvage of glass or tachylyte, but if it had been erupted at
the depth where it is now found, the pressure would have been such
as to produce some crystalline structure. From the ruggedness of
the ocean floor at this point, and the association of tachylyte with
what appear to be bare rocks, he deduces a very recent submergence
of the area, and also considers that this collapse was sudden.
From the inequalities in the ocean floor to the south and south-
west of the Azores he argues that it is highly probable that a detailed
dredging, such as was carried out to the north, would reveal a similar
sunken land of recent date—
and before your eyes would increase then, almost immeasurably, the buried
region, the region which was abruptly engulfed yesterday and of which the
Azores are no more than the evidences escaped from the general collapse.
Geologically speaking, the Platonian history of Atlantis is highly
probable.
THE FLOOR OF THE ATLANTIC
It must be clearly understood that although we have a general
conception of the topography of the floor of the Atlantic, yet we have
no precise knowledge of the relatively smaller elevations and de-
pressions; and if a chart showing the soundings of the North At-
lantic is examined, it will be seen how widely separated these are. It
is quite possible that when a sufficient number of soundings are
taken it will be found to be as irregular as the land surface, or at
least it will be much more ridged and furrowed than any of the
charts at present show.
The main points to be seen at present are two great depressions
which run parallel with the coast lines and also parallel to another
striking feature—the central ridge or rise which, starting from the
149571—33——15
212 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Greenland-Iceland elevation, runs through both Atlantics until it
finally ends in the seventieth parallel of latitude south.
The basins are known to be subdivided by transverse small rises,
so that we have the whole floor divided into basins and domes. So
far, however, the folded mountain chains which end, as it seems
abruptly, against the Atlantic on the Eurafrican side have not been
traced with any definiteness out into the Atlantic, although repre-
sentatives of these folds, of like age and similar direction, are found
on the western side, as pointed out long ago by Marcel Bertrand and
Eduard Suess. The mid-Atlantic Rise has been regarded by dif-
ferent writers as due to different causes. Haug suggested that the
whole Atlantic may be regarded as an enormous geosyncline, and
the Atlantic Rise he looked upon as the first evidence of the folding
into mountain chains of the accumulated deposits. By others the
depressions on each side are regarded as rift valleys let down on
account of the movement of America and Eurafrica and so widening
the Atlantic Ocean. There is, of course, nothing impossible nor
inconceivable in such prodigious faulting as is here implied. The
boundary faults of the Central Valley of Scotland are of the same
order of magnitude vertically, and in length the Atlantic faults
may be compared with the Palestine-Red Sea-East Africa rifts.
Such a structure would also be in agreement with that surrounding
the Pacific Ocean as to magnitude, but there we have the Pacific
type of coast line with its mountain chains parallel to the coast and
all overturned toward the Pacific Ocean, while except for the
Alleghanies in North America, the Atlantic coast line is marked by
mountain chains which run transversely to it. It is to be noticed
that the parallel mountain chains of eastern North America are over-
turned away from the Atlantic Ocean, and not toward it.
As I have already pointed out, we can not expect from the nature
of the evidence to learn much of the past history of the “ dry-land ”
areas from the biological side. On the other hand, investigations
on the physical side can at once yield results of far greater value.
This investigation may be applied to test the case of the North
Atlantic, and the particular physical test which may be worth while
undertaking is that of the character and distribution of the sedi-
ments which through the successive ages have been derived from the
area now occupied by the North Atlantic and the adjacent lands.
III. THE ARCHEAN OR PRE-CAMBRIAN PERIOD
The Torridonian rocks are composed in large part of red felds-
pathic sandstones or arkoses and represent continental deposits, as
is evident in their petrographical characters and their relation to
GEOLOGY OF NORTH ATLANTIC—GILLIGAN 213
the underlying floor of Archean or Lewisian gneiss. This ancient
land surface can be seen rising into hills 2,000 feet high, with the
corresponding valleys, and the Torridonian infills the hollows and
mantles round the hills, from which it is again being rapidly
removed.
The description of the constituents of the coarser beds given in the
Geological Survey Memoir on the Northwest Highlands points un-
doubtedly to the greater part of this vast accumulation of sediments
having been derived from some area of land differing in rock types
present from those of the older rocks of Scotland, upon which it
now rests. Amongst the pebbles are found many which have been
derived from sedimentary formations of an earlier age than the
Torridonian sandstone, as well as pebbles of volcanic rocks such
as spherulitic felsites and feldspar porphyries, some of which show
striking resemblances to the Uriconian volcanic rocks of Shropshire
and must have been derived from areas of volcanic rocks of which no
other trace is found in the northwest of Scotland. The principal
feldspars are microcline, microcline-microperthite, orthoclase, and
oligoclase, of which microcline is by far the most abundant and the
least altered. The heavy minerals in their order of abundance are:
garnet, zircon, magnetite, ilmenite, sphene and rutile. Monazite
has also been found by Doctor Mackie.
Taken altogether the assemblage is quite unlike that which would
have been yielded by a land surface of Lewisian gneiss similar to
that found in Scotland. Where the Torridonian is best developed, as
in Southwest Ross-shire and in Skye, it has a total thickness of nearly
3 miles, and extends for 100 miles from Cape Wrath in a south-
westerly direction to the Isle of Skye, with outlying masses on the
shores of Broad Bay, Isle of Lewis. Doctor Peach was of the opin-
ion that the source of origin of the material lay to the northwest of
the present Scotland.
In Scandanavia the metamorphosed rocks of pre-Cambrian age com-
prise a much more numerous suite of rocks than in Scotland, amongst
which are great thicknesses of altered sedimentary rocks, but here
again they are overlain by a group of red arkoses and sandstones
thousands of feet in thickness which cover a wide extent of country
in the heart of Norway, north of Oslo. This series of rocks is known
as Sparagmite and Dala sandstone and bears a striking resemblance
to the Torridonian of Scotland. The mineralogical composition of
these rocks proves to be quite unlike the older granites and gneisses
of the peninsula, and the assumption is that it, too, was derived from
some land surface, at present unknown, which lay to the northwest.
In the type region of North America there is still some doubt as to
214 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
the succession of the pre-Cambrian rocks or indeed whether great
thicknesses of sedimentary rocks, classed by some workers as pre-
Cambrian, may not be Cambrian or even later in age. But it is
quite clear that in the so-called Algonkian or upper part of the series
the thicknesses of sedimentary rocks, associated with contemporane-
ous lava flows, reach enormous proportions.
On the Keweenawan Peninsula of Michigan, the Upper Cambrian
sandstones rest upon a great series of conglomerates, coarse red and
white sandstones which are often feldspathic, and indicate accumula-
tion under arid conditions, somewhat resembling, therefore, the
Torridon sandstone of Scotland. Below the Keweenawan series
come the Animikie and Huronian series. The Animikie sediments
appear to have been formed in an extensive series of fresh-water or
saline lakes, into which rivers carried their sediment, and the iron
ores of this formation may be analogous to the bog iron ore of
present-day lakes and swamps.
The Huronian contains at least 10,000 feet of clastic deposits and
appears to be of continental origin and probably represents river
flood-plain and alluvia! fan deposits with lake-delta conditions.
True bowlder-clay beds are associated with this series. True red
arkoses also occur at the base, and these are succeeded by red jasper
conglomerates, white quartzite and chert, with limestone and slate.
In the so-called Archean, below the Algonkian, are also found tens
of thousands of feet of sedimentary rocks such as the Sudburian series.
This series has at the base about 5,000 feet of arkose material which
appears to have been derived from some distance, as the material
is unlike anything in the district.
The amount of mechanical deformation which some of these
originally sedimentary rocks of pre-Cambrian age have undergone
in North America make it difficult to assign a source of origin to them
with any certainty, but such evidence as there is points to a northerly
and northeasterly source. In this connection it is to be noted that
some of the formations, like the Animikian, occur in scattered areas
of the Canadian Shield and stretch away far into the Arctic regions.
In Greenland and Spitsbergen nothing corresponding to the Torri-
donian or Sparagmite has been found, but in both occur a series of
rocks consisting of quartzite, phyllites, hmestone, and dolomite,
known in Spitsbergen as the Heckla Hook group and certainly older
than the Devonian. This series has by some authorities been as-
signed to a pre-Cambrian age, and it has in Spitsbergen, like the
Archean on which it rests, been profoundly affected by earth move-
ments while the Devonian above retain their horizontality, except in
the west of Spitsbergen.
GEOLOGY OF NORTH ATLANTIC—GILLIGAN 215
IV. THE CAMBRIAN, ORDOVICIAN, AND SILURIAN PHRIODS
I have grouped these together because, taken on the whole, the
sedimentary deposits are very similar. Locally they show great
variation and ever-changing physical conditions. In western and
northwestern Europe we get evidence of the proximity of shore lines
with clear and possibly deeper seas extending to the east. If we
consider the deposits on a line from North Wales to the Baltic
Provinces of Russia and take the thicknesses of these protozoic rocks
at different points along the line it will be found that they dwindle
from some 30,000 feet in Wales to a few hundreds in the Baltic region,
and that while they are very largely of clastic materials in the west
they are organic hmestones and graptolitic shales in the east.
In the Cambrian rocks of Scotland we have definite evidence of a
shore line separating a land area to the northwest and a sloping sea
floor to the southeast, and the oscillations of the shore line and there-
fore of the uplift and depression of the land and sea floor, during the
accumulation of the Cambrian deposits of that area.
Similar conditions in Ordovician and Silurian times can be traced
in the deposits accumulating in the neighborhood of Girvan, and the
Southern Uplands doubtless was the site of coterminous deltas drain-
ing a northern land. I need only mention two of the beds which are
to be regarded as derived at first hand from rocks of granitic type
lying probably to the west of the present deposits; namely, the Har-
lech grits of the Cambrian and the massive Denbighshire grits of
the Silurian.
The Lower Paleozoic deposits of North America form the mirror
image of those on the European side in that to the east are the
coarser sediments followed by shales farther westward, and these
again still farther to the west by limestones, all these deposits being
contemporaneous. There is also traceable a continual overlapping
of the newer beds upon the older from west and southwest to east
and northeast, e. g., at Cape Breton the Lower Cambrian is several
thousand feet thick, while 30 miles to the northeast at St. John, New
Brunswick, these are only 1,200 feet, and the Middle Cambrian com-
pletely overlap the Lower Cambrian still farther to the northeast.
This clearly points to a depression of the land areas to the east and
northeast and an encroachment of the waters which lay to the west
and southwest.
V. THE OLD RED SANDSTONE PERIOD
The Old Red Sandstone, like the Torridonian, may be described
as a continental deposit. The distribution of the marine Devonian
and the continental Old Red Sandstone in the British Isles and Eu-
216 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
rope gives clear evidence of continental conditions existing over the
northern area while marine conditions obtained to the south. The
line of separation may be roughly traced from the British Channel
eastward to the Ural Mountains. Oscillations of this shore line
through the period are shown by the interdigitation of the continental
and marine deposits in several places. Wherever the Old Red Sand-
stone type of deposit occurs in the British areas it consists of con-
glomerates, breccias, grits, sandstones, and shales, with impure lime-
stones or cornstones in places.
The whole series is such as could only have been derived from an
area in which the rocks were dominantly of granite type.
Heard and Davis have published a full account of the Old Red
Sandstone of the Cardiff district, in which they show that mineralog-
ically it bears a striking resemblance to the Torridonian and the
Millstone grit of Yorkshire, and they conclude that it must have
been derived from some pre-Cambrian area lying to the northwest,
and its accumulation was under similar conditions to those which
I have suggested for the Millstone grit of Yorkshire. The exten-
sion of the Old Red Sandstone continental area, with its character-
istic flora and fauna, to Bear Island and Spitsbergen is shown by
the occurrence there of thick beds of red micaceous sandstone (the
Liefde Bay system) which has yielded Cephalaspis, Scaphaspis, and
plant remains of Old Red Sandstone age.
In Greenland a red sandstone rests unconformably on ancient
folded rocks. This sandstone has furnished no organic remains, so
that its age is not definitely known, but everything points to its
being the same as the Liefde Bay system (Old Red Sandstone) of
Spitsbergen. This sandstone which is of great thickness occurs both
on the east and west coasts, and on the west it is accompanied by
porphyry.
In North America Old Red Sandstone beds are met with in the
Northeastern States, in Gaspé, and New Brunswick. These repre-
sent delta deposits laid down in the northern part of the great
Appalachian trough from a land mass lying off the present coast
line of eastern North America. The Gaspé sandstones have a thick-
ness of over 7,000 feet, while along the southern coast of New Bruns-
wick similar rocks attain a thickness of 9,500 feet. In the interior
these clastic deposits pass into marine sediments of Devonian type,
consisting of shales and limestones.
VI. THE CARBONIFEROUS PERIOD
The clastic deposits of this period cover an enormous area in
the British Isles to-day, and that area would need to be enlarged
very much if we consider the conditions at the end of Carboniferous
GEOLOGY OF NORTH ATLANTIC—GILLIGAN AW
times. If our paleographic maps are even approximately correct,
the area occupied was between 80,000 and 100,000 square miles, and
if they had, let us say, only an average thickness of half a mile, then
on the lowest estimate we get a total volume of 40,000 cubic miles.
The Mississippi to-day brings down about the twentieth of a cubic
mile of sediment yearly. I have previously shown reason to believe
that the bulk of the clastic material in the Carboniferous is of gran-
ite type and came from the northerly direction.
The Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) is extensively developed
(as its name implies) in the Mississippi region of Central America,
southwest of the Great Lakes. When the clastic deposits were en-
croaching from the east, these lower beds were upraised and denuded
so that the Upper Carboniferous or Pennsylvanian rests uncon-
formably upon the several members, not only of the Mississippian, but
also of the Older Paleozoic formations. The Pottsville conglomerate
(the equivalent of our Millstone grit) and the succeeding Carbon-
iferous rocks in the Appalachian region, are regarded by American
geologists as having been brought into the great Appalachian Geo-
syncline from an easterly and southeasterly direction, overlapping
one another away from the source of supply. The Lower Coal
Bearing or Productive Measures overlap the Pottsville to the west
and are most extensively developed in the eastern region. As in
Britain, so in America; after the Pottsville conglomerate period
there was a reduction in the strength of the currents, so that the
lowest beds of the Productive Measures are deposited in the east
only. All the higher series (Alleghany and others) were also derived
from what the American geologists call “ Appalachia,” which was a
land mass off the east coast of America. The folding of the geo-
syneline and uplift of the Alleghany Mountains proceeded pari
passu with the depression of the old land from which the sediments
had been derived and the coarsest eastern deposits were at the same
time removed. Carboniferous rocks of the clastic type are also well
developed in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, ete.
I had the opportunity some years ago of examining many speci-
mens of carboniferous rocks from Newfoundland, through the cour-
tesy of Mr. Landell Mills. One interesting bed known as the
Humber grit (a very appropriate name) bears a striking resemblance
to such a rock as the Rough Rock, say, of Horsforth near Leeds,
Yorkshire. Neither in hand specimen nor under the microscope
could it be distinguished from it, and it yielded a similar suite of
heavy minerals. Especially noteworthy is the feldspar, which is
dominantly microcline, microcline-microperthite and oligoclase.
The physical conditions appear to have been almost identical on
each side of the North Atlantic during the Carboniferous period.
218 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Carboniferous, or at least Permo-Carboniferous, rocks occur also in
Bear Island and Spitsbergen.
From the Carboniferous onward there is evidence that very little in
the way of first-hand sediment was derived from what may be termed
outside sources. It has been shown that the Carboniferous Rocks
supplied the greater part of the breccias and sandstones of Permian
age in the north of England, while in the Midlands the material was
largely derived from local sources.
The conditions of the Trias were very similar, except that, as Dr.
H. H. Thomas has shown, the land lying to the south of the British
Isles was an important contributor.
Messrs. Greenwood and Travis, who made a detailed mineralogical
examination of the Trias of the Wirral district, concluded that the
Bunter had previously formed part of an earlier arenaceous deposit
of granitic character, while the Keuper was derived at first hand from
igneous granitoid rock situated near the site of the present Wirral
Peninsula.
The Jurassic sediments have not as yet been the subject of detailed
study, though there appears little evidence of far-derived material in
the investigations that have so far been made.
In Northeastern America there is also no evidence that there was
any great accession of freshly derived sediment from the Atlantic
region after Carboniferous times.
The North Atlantic region, either by reason of its peneplanation
or its subsidence, had ceased to play an active part in the supply
of material for building up new lands on its periphery, though
the shore lines traceable in the Scottish area through the Mesozoic
period indicate that land still lay to the north and northwest.
It is of some interest to note that every transgression of the British
area by marine waters came from the south and the southeast, the
two most notable instances, of course, being at the beginning of
Mesozoic time with the Rhaetic and the still more complete Ceno-
manian transgression.
VII. THE CHARACTER OF THE LAND MASS: ITS SIZE AND POSITION
It has been shown that in the three great epochs, Torridonian.
Old Red Sandstone, and Carboniferous, when the interpretation of
the sediments has led me to infer renewed uplifts of the land mass
from which the fresh sediments of these periods were derived, the
mineralogical contents of these sediments are of granitic type
(crushed and metamorphosed in places) with fresh and unaltered
feldspars, principally microcline, microcline-microperthite, and oligo-
clase, and the heavy minerals confirm this conclusion. Basic rocks
GEOLOGY OF NORTH ATLANTIC—GILLIGAN P19
appear on all counts to have been either absent or to have formed
only a very small part of the area. Volcanic rocks of acid type,
such as the spherulitic felsites and feldspar porphyries, denote, no
doubt, surface and hypapyssal manifestations of the igneous activity
bringing the granites into position. Sedimentary rocks of grits,
sandstones, and chertly limestones were fairly common, and have
yielded numerous pebbles to the formations named above, as well
as much of the finer material.
The mica-schist pebbles represent, no doubt, altered sedimentary
rocks. It is quite probable, then, that the succession on the ancient
land mass may have been:
Tor. Unaltered sedimentary rocks with volcanic rocks, mica
schists, quartz schists, and other altered sedimentary rocks.
Bast. A complex of acid igneous rocks, mechanically de-
formed, invaded by granite masses and associated dykes of
pegmatites, feldspar porphyries, etc.
Can we find in the Archean lands surrounding the North Atlantic
such rock types as are here indicated ?
Europe.—tin the portions which can now be examined in the ap-
propriate positions in the British Isles and Scandinavia the rock
types are such as could only yield a small part of the material, a real
test being the microcline, and, except for some pegmatite dykes such
as occur in the neighborhood of Cape Wrath, microcline is a compara-
tively rare mineral.
Greenland.—Here on the east and west coasts Archean rocks occur,
mainly of granite with gray gneiss. The granite frequently contains
hornblende, and is traversed by intrusions of syenite and sodalite
syenite.
There are also quartzites, clay slates, and limestones which are
correlated with the Heckla Hook system of Spitzbergen. We do not
find here again those types which would yield the granitic sediments.
Further, it has to be borne in mind that Silurian rocks covered much
of Greenland, and these were folded and contorted by movements
before the deposition of the red sandstone of Old Red Sandstone age.
The Archean of this region, then, could not apparently have yielded
much to the Devonian sandstone and later rocks unless, of course,
the unknown interior of Greenland contains rocks of the right type,
which were exposed in Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous times.
Labrador.—Coleman says that the northeastern part of Labrador
is very like the northwest of Scotland and parts of Scandinavia and
Finland in geology and physiography.
Between the pre-Cambrian and the Pleistocene no formations are
known, and Coleman suggests that the area may have been dry land
220 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
throughout the whole course of geologic history since pre-Cambrian
times.
Coleman goes on to say:
Much of the southern shore appears to be a true igneous gneiss often of a
pink color, but in the north, eruptive gneisses are relatively uncommon, seldom
cover a large area, and the pink color is wanting. Whether pink or gray, the
true gneisses are essentially foliated granites made up of feldspars, quartz, and
dark mica. In the few sections studied under the microscope the feldspars are
seen to be chiefly orthoclase or microcline, with a subordinate amount of
plagioclase having a small extinction angle (oligoclase). The quartz often
shows strain shadows and in some specimens porphyritic feldspars are tailed
out into augen, showing that the rock had undergone shearing strains.
At one place lit-par-lit injection was seen as well as later dikes
of pegmatites or granites. Basic rocks are also abundant, many
having the composition of quartz diorite schist. Some rocks col-
lected as average gray gneisses turned out to be gneissoid norites.
Typical norites, consisting of nearly equal parts of plagioclase and
hypersthene with a considerable amount of magnetite, also occur.
The anorthosite containing the famous labradorite of Paul Island
and the adjacent islands, and parts of the mainland, is of the same
age as the granite gneisses.
Following these are thick beds of sedimentary rocks now metamor-
phosed, which have been paralleled with the Grenville series of
Ontario, though crystalline limestone, the typical rock of the Gren-
ville series, occurs only sparingly. The gneisses are usually gar-
netiferous. Many of the gneisses are so siliceous that they may with
equal propriety be called garnetiferous quartzites. Feldspars are
only occasionally recognizable.
The garnets seem to be of more than one variety, ranging from
pale rosy crystals in the more quartzose rocks to dark brownish red
varieties in the more basic rocks.
Graphite is abundant.
A later sedimentary series, probably 8,000 feet thick, comes above
the Grenville series. All these lower beds are pierced by innumer-
able black dikes, some up to 100 yards in width. These dikes are
of ophitic dolerite, but usually much weathered.
Above these more ancient rocks, pierced by the dikes, come other
thick beds of sediment now converted into slates, with occasional
sandstone and breccias; impure dolomite with a layer of amphib-
olite. This is the Ramah series.
The Mugford series, also sedimentary, come above the Ramah and
consists of dark slate, chert, quartzite and sandstone and limestone,
altogether about 900 feet thick. These contain basic eruptives, tufis,
and agglomerates.
GEOLOGY OF NORTH ATLANTIC—GILLIGAN 221
Taken altogether, Labrador seems a more promising area, as far
as the gneisses and foliated granites are concerned, from which
could have been derived the necessary types of minerals which have
been enumerated above as making up the sedimentary rocks of the
pre-Cambrian and Paleozoic systems round the North Atlantic. Of
the large suite of basic rocks and metamorphosed sedimentary rocks
given by Coleman, however, little or no trace is found in the sedi-
mentary rocks with which I am dealing, and for that reason it ap-
pears evident that Labrador, as far as is at present known, can not
be regarded as a land mass which would contribute almost exclusively
granite material.
THE SIZE OF THE AREA
The present-day Mississippi, with its tributaries, drains an area
the size of Europe with the exception of Russia, Norway, and
Sweden, and its delta covers an area of 12,300 square miles. ‘The
delta is advancing about 262 feet per annum at the Passes, and the
amount of detritus brought down each year would build a prism 268
feet high on a base having an area of 1 square mile. The belt of
clastic deposits surrounding the North Atlantic and derived from
the ancient land mass would make up many such deltas as that of the
Mississippi, and correspondingly must the land mass from which
these were derived have exceeded that which has so far been laid
under contribution for the Mississippi Delta. Vertical as well as
horizontal dimensions must be considered; since if we regard as
reasonable that the major portion of the clastic material of each of
the named periods was derived at first hand from the parent rock,
then this necessitates the same area being subjected to denudation at
many successive periods, and this is easier to conceive of as due to
repeated elevations of the old lands.
THE POSITION OF THE AREA
The evidence which I have given of the distribution of the result-
ing sediments points conclusively to the land mass being situated
in what is now the North Atlantic region. Summing up all the
evidence, it appears to me convincing that the present land masses
surrounding the North Atlantic, even when brought together as has
been suggested by Wegener and others, could not give us all that
is required in the type and amount of sediment, and therefore either
these lands must themselves be much extended beyond their present
boundaries and these extended areas consist of different materials
from those which characterize the present fragments, or there was an
actual continental area occupying the whole of the present North
Atlantic which has since broken up and foundered.
222 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
VIII. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arupr, TH. Die Entwicklung der Kontinente und ihrer Lebwelt, Leipzig, 1907.
Baitny, EH. B. Presidential address, Section C, Brit. Assoe. Rep., 1928.
Cotn, G. A. J. Presidential address, Section C, Brit. Assoc. Rep., 1915.
CoLEMAN, A. P. Northeast Peninsula of Labrador, Canadian Geol. Surv. Sum.
Rep., 1917.
FrAzER, W. The sunken land of Busse, Journ. Roy. Geol. Soc., Ireland,
vol. 5, n. ser. i
GEIKIE, A. Textbook of geology, vol. 2, 1903.
GEIKIE, A. Ancient volcanoes of Britain, vol. 2, 1897.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Memoir: The Northwest Highlands, 1907.
GiLtLicAN, A. The petrography of the Millstone grit of Yorkshire, Quart. Journ.
Geol. Soc., London, vol. 75, pt. 4, 1920.
GRABAU, A. W. Textbook of geology, vol. 2.
GREEN, W. LOTHIAN. Vestiges of a molten globe. 1875.
GREENWoOop, H. W., AND C. B. Travis. The mineralogical and chemical con-
stitution of the Triassic rocks of the Wirral, Proc. Liverpool Geol. Soc.,
1911 and 1914-15.
Grecory, J. W. Presidential address: London Geological Society, 1929, The
geological history of the North Atlantic.
Hearp, A., AND Davies. The Old Red Sandstone of the Cardiff District, Quart.
Journ. Geol. Soc., London, pt. 4, 1924.
HoLtepAHL, O. Amer. Journ. Sci., ser. 4, vol. 49, 1920.
Hutu, E. Physical history of the British Isles, 1882.
JUKES-BROWNE, A. J. The building of the British Isles. 1922.
LYELL, C. Principles of geology, vol. 1, 1867.
PracH, C. W. Presidential address, Section C, Brit. Assoc. Rep., 1912.
Ramsay, A. C. Physical geography of Great Britain, 4th edition.
ScHArRFF, R. R. On the evidences of a former land bridge between Northern
Europe and North America. Proce. Roy. Irish Acad., vol. 28, sect. B, no. 1,
1909.
ScHucHert, C. Palaeogeography of North America, Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer.,
vol. 20, 1910.
SpENcE, L. The problem of Atlantis, 1924.
Suess, E. Antlitz der Erde, vol. 2, Vienna, 1897.
TERMIER, P. Atlantis, Smithsonian Rep., 1915.
Watiacr, A. R. Island life, 1880.
WatiicH, G. C. The Atlantic Sea Bed (Land of Busse) in voyage of H.M.S.
Bulldog, 1860.
Wecener, A. Die Hnstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane, Brunswick, 1915.
Wiis, B. Principles of Palaeogeography, Science, 1910.
Wits, L. J. Physiographical evolution of Britain, 1929.
THE METEORITE CRATERS AT HENBURY, CENTRAL
AUSTRALIA ?
By ARTHUR RICHARD ALDERMAN, M. Sc., F. G. S.
Lecturer in Geology and Mineralogy, University of Adelaide
[With 3 plates]
In the early part of 1931 public interest in South Australia was
stimulated by the fall of the Karoonda meteorite * on November 25,
1930, and its subsequent discovery by an Adelaide University party
led by Prof. Kerr Grant. In consequence of this Professor Grant
was informed separately by Mr. B. Bowman, of Tempe Downs, and
Mr. J. M. Mitchell, of Oodnadatta, that fragments of meteoric iron
were to be found surrounding several craterlike depressions near
Henbury cattle station in Central Australia. The number of craters
was variously described as three and five.
Prof. Kerr Grant placed this information before the authorities of
the South Australian Museum, and Prof. Sir Douglas Mawson, the
honorary mineralogist to that institution, immediately suggested
that the museum should investigate the reports. The author con-
sequently was commissioned by the museum authorities to make
a preliminary survey of the area. In this he was fortunate to be
assisted by Mr. F. L. Winzor, of the chemistry department, Univer-
sity of Adelaide.
LOCALITY
Henbury is situated on the dry watercourse of the Finke River
about 120 miles, by motor, from Rumbalara railway station. This
distance is shortened by about 10 miles if the journey is made by
camel, the usual means of transport of the country. The meteorite
locality (fig. 1) is situated 7 miles west-southwest of Henbury and
adjacent to a strong ridge which runs in an east-west direction and
which forms an outlying spur of Bacons Range. The locality is
known locally as the “ Double Punchbowl,” due apparently to the
two largest craters being in close proximity.
1 Reprinted by permission from the Mineralogical Magazine, vol. 23, No. 136, pp. 19-32,
March, 1932.
2Grant, K., and Dodwell, G. F., Nature, vol. 127, pp. 402, 631, London, 1931. (Min.
Abstr., vol. 5, p. 15).
223
224 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Geologically, the Henbury area consists of Ordovician sediments,
mostly sandstones and quartzites, which are known as the Larapin-
tine series, the nomenclature being derived from the aboriginal name
for the adjacent Finke River. Characteristic Ordovician fossils are
found in these beds at Tempe Downs, some 60 miles distant. At
Henbury wide alluvial plains are interrupted by ridges and hills
which generally consist of the more resistant quartzites.
Seale of Miles :—
#0
DOUBLE PUNCHBOWL MAP OF PORTION
or
, CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
SHOWING
BACONS RANGE METEORITE locality rear HENBURY
INSET—Enuareement of SHADED AREA
Wye. 194°.
FicurE 1.—Sketch map of the locality
DO0SLE PUNCH
THE CRATERS
The view of the craters from the plain is decidedly unimpressive
(pl. 1, fig. 1), so much so that they could very easily escape the
notice of an observer who did not approach quite close to them. The
only indication of anything unusual is the presence in one of them of
green trees, the tops of which are prominent in a region where, owing
to the aridity, green vegetation is extraordinarily scarce.
The number and size of the craters were found to be much greater
than was anticipated. Within an area of half a mile square at least
12 probable craters were located (fig. 2), varying in size from the
smallest with a diameter of about 10 yards up to the largest of which
the longest diameter is about 220 yards from rim to rim. The author
believes that a more detailed survey over a wider area will probably
lead to other craters being located.
HENBURY METEORITE CRATERS—ALDERMAN 225
There is one extremely useful point which greatly aids in the
locating of the smaller craters, and also in their identification in
cases when the crater walls have been removed by erosion. That is
the presence of mulga trees. Mulgas are, in this area, practically
confined to the watercourses, which, although generally dry, occa-
PLAN SHOWING THE
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION
OF
—METEQKITE FRAGMENTS —
DOUBLE* PUNCH BOWL
N°7 ww
Main Crater
Scale of yards —
2 Jo Lad
fach - represents one fragment
srrespects ve f sae
Figur 2.—Plan showing the general distribution of the craters and of the meteorite
fragments around them
sionally flow after rain. The craters, however, almost invariably
contain a clump of mulgas. This is due to the concentration in the
center of the crater of any rain water falling within the crater walls.
The inward wash of rain has naturally filled up a great deal of the
central depression and the finer sediment has formed a highly im-
pervious surface after the nature of a “clay pan.” Water is thus
preserved in the crater for a much longer period than outside the
walls.
The greatest interest was attached to the two largest craters,
which may be called the Main Crater and the Water Crater (Nos. 7
and 6). Viewed from the outside, a very gentle slope rises up to
226 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
the brim and in appearance entirely resembles one of the low eleva-
tions which foot the adjacent quartzite ridges. However, as soon
as the rim of the Main Crater is reached the effect is startling. A
huge depression is seen, 50 to 60 feet deep and of oval shape, being
about 220 yards in its longest axis and 120 in its shortest. Mulga
trees and grasses cover the floor, which consists of cracked mud cakes
resembling the floor of a “clay pan,” and which apparently retains
water for some time after rain (pl. 1, fig. 2). The crater walls
are generally steep near the summit (pl. 2, fig. 1), but at lower
levels slopes of talus reach more gently in toward the center of the
depression. The height of the walls from floor to rim is on the
average from 40 to 50 feet, but it is evident that they have formerly
been considerably higher than they are at present. The walls them-
selves consist for the most part of shattered and crushed fragments
of sandstone and slaty rock varying in size from the finest powder
up to large blocks several cubic feet in volume. In one or two
places slaty rock, very much shattered, has the same dip as the
country rock and seems to be in situ in the walls. This point is of
interest and will be mentioned later.
Adjacent to the Main Crater and lying to the south of it are two
other craters, the larger of which may be called the Water Crater.
A watercourse having broken through the walls, an inflow of water
evidently results after rain. This water is apparently preserved for
some weeks after the rain has fallen. This has led to the greater
development of vegetation, and both mulgas and other acacias have
grown in this crater to a size unusual in the area. One or two trees
(apparently Acacia salicina) have a height of about 45 feet, the
diameter of the trunk being up to 21 inches. In shape the Water
Crater is roughly circular with a general diameter of about 80 yards.
The walls vary in height from 12 to 25 feet, reaching the maximum
at that point where they divide the Main Crater from the Water
Crater. The general description of the walls of the Main Crater
may be applied to the walls of this and all the other craters.
A summarized description of the craters follows (fig. 2) :
No. 1. Somewhat indefinite owing to the complete removal by erosion of the
erater walls. An isolated circle of mulgas with a “clay pan” floor, together
with the presence of meteoric iron fragments surrounding it, leaves little doubt
in the author’s mind that this is a former crater. Probably originally circular,
with a diameter of possibly 25 yards.
No. 2. Similar to No. 1, but somewhat larger. Circular, with diameter of
possibly 30 yards.
No. 3. A very well-defined crater, circular, with a diameter of about 45 yards.
General height of walls 10 to 18 feet. About 160 iron fragments, many being
very small, were found surrounding this crater, and of this number about four-
fifths were lying to the west. A large jagged piece, weighing 13 pounds was
found within the crater walls. Another large mass was found in a position
HENBURY METEORITE CRATERS—ALDERMAN DO:
where a watercourse had at one point broken through and washed away the
erater wall.
No. 4. Very similar to No.3. Circular, diameter about 45 yards, general height
of walls 10 to 20 feet. In the immediate neighborhood of No. 4 about 500 frag-
ments of various sizes were found. Of these nearly 400 were on the west side
of the crater. As noted below, about 100 of these were lying within an area
of 6 by 6 feet.
No. 5. Circular, diameter 25 yards, low walls. Boring in the “ clay-pan”
floor showed a depth of 8 feet of fine soil before coarse rock fragments pre-
vented further sinking.
No. 6. The Water Crater. Roughly circular, with diameter of 80 yards.
Height of walls 12 to 25 feet, the highest part being that which divides this
crater from the Main Crater. A watercourse has broken through the wall on
the south side, water being preserved in the pan for some time after rain. This
crater contains mulga and other acacia trees, the latter reaching a height of
45 feet.
No. 7. The Main Crater (pl. 1, fig. 2; pl. 2, fig. 1). Oval in shape, with its
principal axes 220 and 120 yards from rim to rim, and 170 and 70 yards across
the floor. The peculiarity of shape is possibly due to two large masses landing
simultaneously and in close proximity. Height of walls averages 40 to 50 feet.
Fragments of iron mostly on north side.
No. 8. Well-detined, circular, diameter 55 to 60 yards. Height of walls varies
from 8 to 15 feet, being greatest where No. 8 is divided from the adjacent Main
and Water Craters.
No. 9. Ill-defined and doubtful; the topography, however, suggests a small
crater.
No. 10. Like Nos. 11, 12, and 13, is situated on a low sandstone ridge to the
south of the main craters and to the north of the prominent ridge of siliceous
breccia previously mentioned as a spur of Bacons Range. No. 10 is circular,
with a diameter of about 20 yards; low walls. it is about south-southwest of
the main group of craters.
No. 11. On ridge, circular; diameter about 15 yards.
No. 12. On ridge. A very well-defined circular crater sunk into side of ridge,
the walls reaching 12 or more feet on the highest side; diameter 20 yards.
(Plta2 ties £2")
No. 18. Rather indefinite, but there can be very little doubt that this is a
crater; diameter about 10 yards.
METHORITE FRAGMENTS
A great number of metallic meteorite fragments are scattered over
a wide area (fig. 2). Those collected are of all shapes and vary
in weight from a fraction of an ounce up to 5214 pounds. The shape
of many of them suggests that they were fragments torn or scaled
off a large mass, whereas others seem to have fallen as complete
units. This, together with the fact that a number of craters were
located, suggests the extreme probability that many of the fragments
were torn off large masses immediately before or during impact with
the earth and that others fell at the same time but separately. It
was, of course, owing to the impact of the largest members of this
meteoric shower that the craters were formed.
149571—33—16
228 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
It was extremely noticeable during the collection of material that
in many instances a number would be found within an area of
perhaps a square foot or so, the surrounding area being practically
devoid of fragments. In an area of 6 by 6 feet near crater No. 4
over a hundred fragments were collected.
These facts are suggestive of the breaking up of large masses.
The greatest number of fragments were found surrounding craters
Nos. 3 and 4 and generally to the west of them. Many of the larger
pieces were found at some distance, perhaps 100 to 200 yards from
the craters, whereas the small fragments were mostly close to the
crater’s edge. Very few were found within the walls of any of the
craters. Around the group of large craters (Nos. 6, 7, and 8) frag-
ments were notably scarce, except on the northern side. This, how-
Plain Main Crater Gitter
a; Water Crater
°
e © © 6 Ce © 6) ei eve 0 610"e (018 6 (ee ee ee & © © OF FF Cease
N Bb N. S.
FIGURE 3,—NSections through the craters
ever, is easy to understand. Immediately after the fall of the
meteoric material the crater walls must have been very considerably
higher than they are now and fragments of meteorite may have cov-
ered the existing land surface. Erosion has, however, since removed
material from the walls and it has washed downwards, both inwards
into the craters and outwards on to the plain. The material so re-
moved has covered up most of the meteoric fragments except in such
places where a slight alteration of the drainage has again uncovered
them. It was noticeable that most of the fragments found near the
main craters were in shallow watercourses.
ABSENCE OF POSITIVE EVIDENCE OF IRON MASSES IN THE CRATERS
None of the craters showed any evidence, at the surface, of con-
taining a large mass of meteoric iron. Further, the presence of
fragments of iron within the crater walls was rare. This, of course,
was to be expected. Certain simple observations were made, there-
fore, in an attempt to locate masses of meteoric iron in the craters.
A light hand-boring tool was used in one of the smaller craters.
>
HENBURY METEORITE CRATERS—-ALDERMAN 229
Crater No. 5 was considered to be the most suitable for this pur-
pose. <A hole to the depth of 8 feet was sunk through fine loamy
soil. At this depth rock fragments, apparently washed inwards
from the walls, prevented further sinking. This showed that the
small crater No. 5 had originally been at least 8 feet deeper than it
now is. If any meteoric mass has penetrated to a depth of more
than 8 feet below the present floor of a small crater like No. 5, the
depth to which such a mass has penetrated below the larger craters
must be very considerable.
An experiment was also made to see if a compass needle showed
any deviation on approaching and passing the Main Crater. Trav-
erses were made with this end in view, but the prismatic compass
used gave results which could not be considered beyond the limits
of experimental error.
Although these observations gave results which can only be con-
sidered as negative, the author believes that further work along
these lines should be proceeded with as soon as possible. In such a
case as this the use of geophysical methods seems to be ideally suited.
If, as at the great Meteor Crater at Canyon Diablo in Arizona, mag-
netic methods prove to be somewhat unsatisfactory, it is highly
probable that good results would be obtained by the use of gravi-
metric, seismic, or electrical methods.
EFFECTS OF IMPACT
The excavating effect of the fall of a large meteoric mass is of
course self-evident, and the intense shattering and crushing of the
surrounding country rock are only to be expected. The walls in all
cases consist of unconsolidated fragmentary rock material varying in
size from the finest powder up to large masses several cubic feet in
volume. The effects of shearing stresses are also to be noted in
many specimens.
Besides the formation of the 12 or more craters mentioned, the
impact of the meteoric bodies with the earth has left traces of other
effects which are extremely interesting. One of these phenomena
is shown particularly well by crater No. 3. Radiating outwards into
the plain from the crater walls can be seen five or six low ridges of
sandstone. These suggest “ dikes ” of a hard rock which has resisted
erosion more successfully than the surrounding country rock. They
consist, however, of sandstone which is apparently identical with
that to be found anywhere in the neighborhood. The “ridges” are
only a few inches higher than the surrounding surface of the plain,
but consisting as they do of small blocks of sandstone, of which the
surface is blackened due to weathering, they are easily distinguished
230 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
from the prevailing reddish color of the surrounding gibbers.*
These “ dikes” radiating outward from the crater immediately re-
minded the author of the “percussion figures” obtainable in mica
under suitable conditions. Although traces of similar ridges were
found around some of the other craters, particularly No. 4, none
were as well defined as those described around No. 3. The length of
these ridges varied considerably, but one could perhaps mention 30
yards as an average distance from the crater rim that a “ dike ” could
still be traced on the plain.*
Another point of extreme interest was the discovery on the plain
to the north of the Main Crater of black glassy material greatly
resembling the glass of fulgurites. This is seen in some specimens
to be vesicular, in others to be cementing rock fragments. There is
little doubt that this has been formed by the fusing of the country
rock by the enormous heat of impact of the meteorite. It is a point
of interest that glassy siliceous matter apparently of similar origin
has been found at the great meteorite crater at Canyon Diablo in
Arizona.
DIRECTION OF FALL
Until the position of any iron masses buried in the craters has
been located, the direction of fall of the meteoritic bodies must be
more or less a matter of conjecture. There is, however, one point
which may give some indication of the direction in which the bodies
were traveling. Notes were made as to the general position of all
meteoritic specimens collected. From this it was seen that the
material was generally concentrated on the western side of the
craters (fig. 2). This was particularly noticeable in the case of
craters Nos. 3 and 4. Around these craters there seemed to be no
indication that such factors as prevailing winds or surface drainage
had favored the uncovering of meteoritic material on one side more
than the others.
This fact is subject to two interpretations depending on whether
the majority of the fragments were formed by the impact having
a shattering effect on the larger masses, or whether the fragments
had existed separately for some time before landing. If the former
supposition is correct, one would expect that the fragments had been
deposited or “splashed ” on the farther side of the crater; that is,
the meteoritic bodies possessed an east to west movement. If the
latter is the correct supposition, one would expect that the smaller
bodies, not possessing the momentum of the larger, would be im-
3 Gibber, aboriginal Australian for a large stone or bowlder.
* Some of the craters of the moon (e. g., Copernicus) show somewhat similar radiating
ridges. This may, perhaps, lend some support to the theory that the lunar craters are of
ineteorie origin.
HENBURY METEORITE CRATERS—ALDERMAN 231
peded to a greater extent by air resistance, and would thus fall short
of the larger masses. This would then suggest a movement from
west to east.
It is, of course, difficult to realize how a huge mass of iron would
behave under the conditions which must have prevailed when the
meteorite landed, but one would expect that the impact would cause
the bodies to be at least partly shattered. This idea is supported
by the shape of many of the fragments. The absence of the minute
“ pitting ” over the whole or part of the surface of a great number of
the fragments also suggests that the period of their separate existence
must have been a very short one.
AGE OF THE FALL
Judged from human standards, the age of the fall must be con-
siderable. There are many indications that it is by no means recent,
but one can not as yet make any positive determination of its age.
Summarized, these indications are:
(1) The complete oxidation and disintegration of certain of the
iron fragments. These and other geological processes proceed with
extreme slowness in a climate of such aridity. The average annual
rainfall for the locality is probably about 6 inches. Some frag-
ments were found which consisted entirely of scaly ferric oxide.
(2) The presence of fully grown mulga and Acacia salicina trees
would put a certain minimum on its age. The author believes,
however, that generations of trees have lived and died in the craters
since the meteoric fall. The trunks of many dead mulgas are to
be seen everywhere, some apparently of great age. The mulga is a
notably slow-growing tree.
(3) Inquiries from aborigines of the district gave negative results.
None of them had any ideas as to the origin of the craters. If the
fall had taken place since the human occupation of the area, one
would have expected accounts of such a notable happening to be
handed down from generation to generation, and that also the
locality would be regarded with superstitious awe. The aborigines,
however, showed no interest in the craters.
(4) In the walls of the Main Crater some shattered slaty reck has
the same dip as that of the surrounding country rock and may
possibly be in situ. This is several feet higher than the general
level of the plain, and may indicate that the level of the plain has
been reduced by several feet since the formation of the crater, which
in such a climate would require a very long period of time. The
rock in situ in the crater walls would have been protected from
erosion by the superincumbent layer of fragmentary material which
formed the upper part of the previously higher walls. The occur-
232 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
rence of such rock in the walls is, however, perhaps accidental; Le.,
it may have been thrown up by the impact and is not in situ at all.
It will be seen that the age indications are very vague indeed.
The author is, however, of the opinon that the fall took place a very
long time ago and that the age of the craters must be reckoned in
terms of thousands of years.
CONCLUSION
This description would not be complete without some reference
to the meteorite craters at Canyon Diablo (or Coon Butte) in Arizona,
and near the Tunguska River in Siberia. The Canyon Diablo Crater
is, of course, much larger than the largest at Henbury, being some
three-quarters of a mile in diameter and with a depth of 570 feet
from floor to rim. ‘There are, however, many points of similarity
between the two occurrences. Doctor Merrill’s general description ®
of the nature of the Canyon Diablo Crater could easily be appled to
the larger ones at Henbury with but few modifications. Other
notable points of similarity are the nature and occurrence of the iron
fragments and the presence of fused country rock. Dissimilarities
which may be particularly noted are the large number of craters in
Central Australa compared with the single large one in Arizona;
also the oval shape of the main crater at Henbury.
Fewer details are available concerning the craters in Siberia.
Apparently the largest crater is 150 feet in diameter and about
12 feet deep, and it is interesting to note that digging in one of these
craters to a depth of 30 feet failed to reveal any meteoric material.
The largest of the Siberian craters is thus much smaller than the
Main Crater at Henbury, so that it is possible that meteoric material
at Henbury may be buried to a very considerable depth. A bore
sunk in the Canyon Diablo Crater reached a hard mass at about 1,376
feet. It is, however, still uncertain that this is the main bulk of the
meteorite.
Bearing these facts in mind the author would suggest that further
work at Henbury should obviously be along the following lines:
(1) That a wider survey of the area be made. Owing to difficul-
ties of transport and lack of the necessary time only a comparatively
small area was examined. The author believes that a wider survey
may lead to the discovery of more craters, some of which may be of
considerable importance.
(2) That use be made of geophysical methods in an attempt to
locate the position of masses of meteoric iron in any of the craters.
The locality, the type of country rock, and the nature of the material
to be located seem most ideally suited to the use of such methods.
® Merrill, G. P., Smithsonian Mise. Coll., vol. 50 (Quarterly Issue, vol. 4), p. 461, 1908.
HENBURY METEORITE CRATERS—-ALDERMAN 233
(3) That if the position of a mass of iron be located by geophysical
means, boring operations could then be proceeded with advan-
tageously. Boring or drilling would certainly be of great value in
prospecting the main craters. In some of the smaller ones it is
possible that the meteoric material might be revealed by actual
digging.
These notes are merely the record of a preliminary survey and the
author believes that work along the lines suggested will lead to
results which will be of interest to the world in general and particu-
larly to the world of science.
Acknowledgments—The author wishes to record his sincere
thanks to the authorities of the South Australian Museum for pro-
viding the opportunity for him to visit Henbury; to Profs. Sir Doug-
las Mawson and Kerr Grant for their enthusiastic support and ad-
vice; and to Mr. F. L. Winzor for his invaluable help and company
during the stay at the meteorite locality.
ADDENDUM BY L. J. SPENCER
After reading the typescript of Mr. Alderman’s most interesting
paper, I was rather surprised to find that the meteorite craters he
describes are marked on The Times Atlas (London, 1922, pl. 105).
Between Henbury and Bacons Range they are indicated as a small
round hill in exactly the position shown on Mr. Alderman’s sketch
map (fig. 1). The latitude and longitude of the spot are 24° 34’ §.,
133° 10’ E. This is about 50 miles south of the MacDonnell Ranges
in the very center of Australia. After Mr. Alderman’s visit to the
locality in May, 1931, a visit was made in June by the brothers R.
and W. Bedford and Mr. B. Duggin, from the Kyancutta Museum
at Kyancutta, South Australia, which involved a journey by motor
truck of about 3,000 miles. Of the material then collected Mr. R.
Bedford has sent to the British Museum a large series of 542 com-
plete pieces of the meteoric iron ranging in weight from 3.4 grams
to 17014 pounds (7714 kg). There are large pieces weighing 11,445
and 6,550 grams and several of about 2 kg, but the majority are
small shelly and jagged pieces. The total weight of the 542 pieces
is 321 pounds (146 kg). Im addition, about 20 pounds of “iron
shale” and fused rock fragments were sent; also excellent sketches
and photographs made by Mr. R. Bedford of the craters. The Ade-
laide party collected 800 pieces of the iron, and the Kyancutta party
550.
It is quite evident that at these craters there was a large shower
of many separate masses of meteoric iron. But the presence also of
the laminated “ iron shale ” in pieces up to several pounds in weight
(the largest piece sent by Mr. R. Bedford weighs 1,668 grams) and
234 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
up to 514 cm in thickness indicates that the iron has suffered con-
siderable oxidation by weathering. Many of the smaller pieces of
iron are flaky and shell-like with convex and concave surfaces, and
they often show fantastically twisted forms. In one or two cases
such a shell-like flake is only loosely attached to a larger piece. It
therefore seems probable that many of the smaller pieces are the
result of the breaking down of larger masses by oxidation.
From my examination of the 60-ton Hoba meteorite, buried in situ
with its enveloping zone of “iron shale,” I am convinced that the
concave and pitted surfaces so commonly shown by iron meteorites
are the result of subsequent weathering rather than of burning dur-
ing the brief flight through the atmosphere. This pitting is no doubt
due to the decomposition of the particles of troilite (FeS) scattered
through the iron. The surface of the Henbury irons, with a skin of
glazed limonite, is quite different from that of the few iron meteorites
which have been actually observed to fall.
The presence of the “iron shale ” supports Mr. Alderman’s conclu-
sion that the fall of the meteorite took place ages ago. Mr. R.
Bedford is, however, of the opinion that the fall is comparatively
recent. On his return journey he interviewed, at Oodnadatta, Mr.
J. M. Mitchell, a local prospector, who had known of the masses of
iron 12 years ago. Mr. Mitchell asserted that the old blacks would
not camp within a couple of miles of the place, and that they called
it “chindu chinna waru chingi yabu,” meaning “sun walk fire devil
rock.”
An etched section of the iron shows well-marked Widmanstitten
figures of the medium octahedrite type. Besides kamacite, taenite,
und plessite, there are a few minute specks of troilite. The kamacite
bands, instead of being straight, are wavy and in places much curved
and distorted. During the process of etching no straight and definite
Neumann lines were detected, but the kamacite bands are marked by
wavy lines and an irregular network of cracks. This would indicate
a disruption of the mass, which may have taken place at the time of
fall or at some earlier period.
Mr. Alderman’s paper is a valuable contribution to the scanty
knowledge of the problematical meteorite craters; and in the case he
describes the association of meteorites with the craters could scarcely
be fortuitous. Meteorite fragments have been also found around the
single craters of Canyon Diablo (Arizona) and Odessa (Texas), but
none near the craters of Tunguska (Siberia) and Kaali (Esthonia).°
Around the 60-ton Hoba (Southwest Africa), the largest known
meteorite, there is no sign of a crater.
® Min. Abstr., vol. 4, pp. 427-428, 1931; vol. 5, pp. 16-17, 1932.
VIIVEYLSNY IWHYLNAD “AYNENAH LV SYSLVYD ALIMOSLAW
(LON) JOVI UV] 9} JO MOIA OFUTRIOUR ‘%
(9 “ON) 101VID 1078 AA OY} UT OTB Soa} JOSIL[ OY, “8 PUB Y ‘SON Aq UEppIT SI (LON) JOIRAD UIE, OY} JO JUO4Xe TMJ oy, “8 PUR “2 9 “SON SOJL.AD JO YNOS ay} WHOA META “|
| ALV1d ueuleply—'7¢6| ‘Woday uerucsyzwg
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Alderman C/N 2
1. Radiating ridges around No.3 Crater. One ridge extends from camera toward edge of crater. Mr.
Winzor is standing on another such low ridge
2. Inside wall of the Main Crater. Over the edge are seen the tops of the trees in the Water Crater
METEORITE CRATERS AT HENBURY, CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Alderman PLATE 3
1. View inside crater No. 12, showing shattered blocks of sandstone in the crater walls
2. Typical fragments of the meteoric iron. (With scale of inches)
METEORITE CRATER AND METEORIC IRON, HENBURY, CENTRAL AUSTRALIA
SOME GEOGRAPHICAL RESULTS OF THE BYRD
ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION *
By LAvuRENcE M. GouLp
University of Michigan
[With 9 plates]
During the course of my duties as geographer and geologist of the
Byrd Antarctic expedition I had the opportunity to make a special
study of three major features—the Rockefeller Mountains, the seg-
ment of the Queen Maud Mountains charted by the geological
party, and the Ross Shelf Ice. It is with these features that we are
here concerned.”
THE ROCKEFELLER MOUNTAINS
Of necessity the major part of the expedition’s first summer in
the Antarctic was consumed by the business of establishing perma-
nent quarters—Little America. Commander (now Rear Admiral)
Byrd did, however, find time to make a number of flights eastward
over and beyond King Edward VII Land. On the first of the flights,
January 27, 1929, he discovered a new range, which he named the
Rockefeller Mountains. In view of the fact that hitherto the only
known land in this sector of the Antarctic was the scattered group
of low-lying peaks known as the Alexandra Mountains, this discovery
was of potential importance, and it was most desirable to make of it
at least a brief reconnaisance during our first summer. Unfortunately
the season had become rather far advanced before it was practicable
to undertake this venture. On March 7 Bernt Balchen, Harold June,
and I took off for the mountains. After a flight of 2 hours and 10
minutes in a direction a little north of east and against a fairly strong
head wind we landed near the southern extremity of the group.
We were out early in the morning; but the wind began to rise as the
day drew on, and about noon we had to stop our surveying. A lull in
1 Copyright, 1931, by the American Geographical Society of New York. Reprinted by
permission from the Geographical Review, vol. 21, No. 2, April, 1931.
For a general summary of the work of the expedition, see Joerg, W. L. G.: The Work
of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition 1928-1930, American Geographical Society, 1930. Also
idem, Brief History of Polar Exploration Since the Introduction of Flying, Amer. Geogr.
Soc. Special Publ. No. 11, 2d ed., pp. 11-20, 1930.
235
236 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
the late afternoon enabled us to make our first ascent of the
mountains.
For the next three days and nights we were occupied in a strenuous
struggle with the wind. On the morning of the 13th calm though not
clear weather permitted a return to surveying. We climbed the peaks
near by, completed our triangulation, and collected a fairly repre-
sentative number of rock specimens. On the 14th the wind came on
stronger thanever. Ali precautions and efforts to save the plane were
futile. In the late evening a sudden gust tore the plane loose from its
moorings, lifted it bodily into the air and literally flew it tail fore-
most for more than half a mile and dropped in onto the ice a total
wreck. On the 18th Commander Byrd with Dean Smith and Mal-
colm Hanson arrived to bring us back to Little America. June and
Balchen returned to Little America with Smith, while Commander
Byrd, Hanson, and I remained at the mountains to be picked up on a
second flight on the 22d.
To anyone expecting a great mountain range the Rockefellers are
rather disappointing. They are a group of low-lying scatiered peaks
and ridges almost completely smothered with snow. Many of the
smaller masses are completely covered and appear only as bulges in
the otherwise almost level surface, and even the largest mountains
show but scant exposures of bare rock. The peaks and ridges range
in height from about 500 to slightly over 2,000 feet above sea level.
They begin roughly in latitude 78° 14’ S., longitude 155° 15’ W., and
extend northeastward as a crescentic-shaped group with the crescent
opening toward the west. Their most northern limits are in latitude
77° 35’ S., longitude 153° 5’ W.
From the air the bare rock surfaces looked so pink and of such a
solid uniform color that J at first thought the mountains were com-
posed either of trap rock or sandstone. Such was not the case; the
main body of rock is a coarse-grained pink granite. A few pegmatite
dikes and veins have intruded the older granite. In places it is also
shot through with dikes of gray granite and pink granite differing
from the main mass primarily in structure only. There are a few
narrow quartz veins; and these, like the pegmatites, are barren of any
interesting or important mineralization.
In sheltered places bits of gray lichens and a greenish mosslike
erowth were found. Unfortunately our specimens of the latter were
lost when the plane was blown away, and we were not able to find
any more on further search.
There is apparently a great deal of melting about these mountains
during the warmer months. In many places their upper slopes are
encased in a thin rind of blue ice, while great fields of ice formed
from the freezing of slushy snow extend in places from 7 to 10 miles
BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION—GOULD 937
from the mountains. Curious circular patches of darker ice from
a few inches to 2 or 3 feet across, caused by rocks burying them-
selves through absorbed heat during the summer months, give
to these fields a freckled appearance. A real lake, about 3 miles in
diameter, which at the time of our visit was frozen into solid blue
ice, had been formed on the southern side of the mountains, evidently
by the accumulation of melt water from the higher slopes.
We found no crevasses indicating any glacier-like movement
around the mountains; probably their tops were formerly overridden
by ice, but only a mildly erosive effect resulted or else weathering
has been amazingly rapid here. We looked in vain for such evi-
dences as scratches, striations, and erratics. The terrain about the
mountains averages not more than 300 feet above sea level; and one
gets the impression that, were the snow to disappear, what we now
eall a mountain group would become an archipelago.
So far as the origin of these mountains is concerned, their relief
is not due primarily to tectonic disturbance. They appear, rather,
to have been left by the erosion of materials around them—peaks
and ridges of circumvallation. I believe the Alexandra Mountains
to the northward, to which the Rockefellers appear to be at least
petrographically related, belong to the same integral land mass and
likewise owe their relief primarily to the forces of erosion.
No analysis or petrographic studies of the rocks brought back
from the Rockefeller Mountains are yet available. These may
establish some positive relationships with the rocks across the Ross
Sea. I think this is doubtful. At any rate these mountains show no
definite structural affinities with other known lands in the Antarctic.
THE QUEEN MAUD MOUNTAINS
The plans * for our geological reconnaissance of the Queen Maud
Mountains were made in the hght of what was believed to be the
geographic outlines of this sector of the Antarctic as revealed by
Amundsen. He had reported appearance of land between latitudes
81° and 82°, roughiy in longitude 159° W. He had further believed
that the Queen Maud Mountains trended southeast from Axel Hei-
berg Glacier, crossing the continent only some 140 miles from the pole
itself. Finally, he indicated a great highland beginning in the
Queen Maud Mountains in about latitude 85° 45’ S., longitude
160° W., extending thence northeast at least to 84°, and possibly con-
necting somewhere with the appearance of land between latitudes 81°
and 82°. This highland he called Carmen Land.*
3 Details of the preparations and the incidents of the trip itself are described in chs.
11 and 17, the latter contributed by the writer of Admiral Byrd’s narrative, Little
America, New York, 1930.
*See Joerg, Work of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition 19281930, p. 56, footnote.
238 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The geological party planned to do specifically three things.
First, to sledge directly southward from Little America to the foot
ef the Queen Maud Mountains and there ascend Mount Fridtjof
Nansen with a view to getting a cross section of the range; second,
to sledge eastward from Axel Heiberg Glacier along the foot of the
Queen Maud Mountains to their junction with the supposed Carmen
Land—this seemed vastly important, for Amundsen’s plotted post-
tion of Carmen Land indicated a highland running practically at
right angles to the trend of the main Queen Maud Mountains, a
curious and unnatural-seeming relationship; third, on the way back
toward Little America to make a detour eastward to investigate the
Jand indicated by Amundsen between latitudes 81° and 82°.
On its way southward the supporting party was first to pass to the
westward of this supposed land. ‘They failed to see it. The geologi-
cal party, which followed soon after, found no evidence of it; and
finally, on the flight to lay a cache of oil and gas at the foot of Axel
Heiberg Glacier preparatory to the polar flight, Commander Byrd
und his party corroborated these observations. Our plans were then
altered to the extent that we did not leave the trail homeward bound.
Otherwise they were carried out in their entirety and with more time
at our disposal than we had hoped to have.
THE SLEDGE JOURNEY OF THE GEOLOGICAL PARTY
To accomplish so long a journey it was necessary for us either
ic make a preliminary depot-laying trip or to have an additional
unit help us move our heavy loads some distance southward from
Little America. The latter plan was adopted for conservation of
time. The so-called supporting party, composed of Arthur Walden,
leader; Christopher Braathen, Joe de Ganahl, and Jack Bursey, pre-
ceded us for 200 miles and established depots of food and fuel every
50 miles. On November 4 the geological party took its final depar-
ture from Little America. There were six of us—Norman D.
Vaughan, dog driver and in general charge of the dogs; Frederic E.
Crockett, dog driver and radio operator; George A. Thorne, dog
driver and topographer; Edward E. Goodale, dog driver; John S.
O’Brien, dog driver and surveyor, and myself as geologist and
navigator.
We proceeded southward, keeping as nearly as possible on the
meridian of longitude 163° 31’ W. From Little America to the
foot of Liv Glacier we passed over two features of some geographical
note; otherwise this part of our trek contained little that was novel.
The first matter of interest was the fact that at 25 miles south of
Little America we found ourselves going up a fairly gentle slope.
From an altitude of 200 feet above sea level at the station we ascended
BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION—GOULD 239
gradually to 895 feet above sea level at 50 miles, and we were not yet
on top of the hill. We had but crossed diagonally the northern end
of a great gentle bulge in the shelf ice. Its axis trended southeast
to northwest, and we estimated it to be at least 50 miles long. We
conservatively judged that this hill must attain a height of at least
1,000 feet at its highest point. Except for this bulge there are no
significant changes in level of the shelf ice between Little America
and some 15 to 20 miles from the foot of the mountains. It presents
on almost every hand a featureless plain of dead monotony.
There seems little question but that this hill indicates a place
where the shelf ice is held up and back by land. Crevasses to the
west of it and even to the southwest where we came down from its
slope onto the general level of the shelf indicate that there is some
movement of the ice about it.
THE CREVASSED AREA
The second area of more than passing interest in this first leg of
our journey was the crevassed region between latitudes 81° 10’ and
81° 17’ S. Amundsen described an eerie passage through this region,
and both the supporting party and we of the geological party often
found ourselves holding our breath as we threaded our way through
the crevasses. As we approached this region from the north we first
came upon old crevasses long since dead and now filled with snow
and ice. Next we found ourselves in a region of partially filled cre-
vasses which here and there expanded into circular depressions from
5 to 15 feet across. They were not unlike symmetrical sink holes
in appearance. A few haycock-shaped mounds were noted here, but
their number increased farther south where the crevasses gave evi-
dence of being much younger. Some of these haycocks had steep
sides and a beehivelike configuration. These were generally thin-
skinned; and some could be broken with a ski stick to reveal a great
chasm below. Apparently the circular sink-holelike depressions
represent the site of these thin-skinned haycocks. The faulted-dome
type of haycock with a flatter, more conical profile was present in
larger numbers than the beehive type.
On the southern edge of this region we found newly formed cracks
from a few inches to more than a foot in width. Camped here for
the night, we soon became aware that all was not quiet around us.
_ The ice was cracking about and under us, sometimes with detonations
like distant cannon and again with sharp reports like rifles fired close
by. Occasionally the tent itself would be jarred as the ice snapped.
I timed these reports with my stop watch and found that they aver-
aged one a second for about 20 minutes, when I fell asleep. When
I awoke three or four hours later and again listened, I was amazed
240 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
to hear not a sound of any sort for many minutes. It appeared that
even though the shelf ice is here at least 700 feet thick it was under
such a great strain that even the weight of our outfit was enough to
disturb its equilibrium and start it cracking. This camp was really
well to the south of the very badly crevassed portion. At a later
time we found ourselves camped in the midst of crevasses and chasms
toward the northern edge of this interesting region. I took special
notice to see if our previous experience would be repeated. It was
not. We heard not a sound of cracking ice. Apparently the active
movement of the ice is from the south, as the shapes of the crevasses
would suggest, while the ice becomes stagnant toward the north. A
study of the aerial photographs taken over this region indicates a
movement from the southeast. These photographs further revealed
the fact that the whole broken area is but some 75 miles in length.
Seventy miles north of the Queen Maud Mountains on our home-
ward way the performance described above was duplicated. There
was a constant cracking of the ice all about us when we turned in,
but never a sound when we woke in the morning. Here, however,
were no surface indications of the great strain that the ice is under;
the surface is practically level, and we found no crevasses within 15
miles on either side of this camp.
Frequently in the course of the summer we found ourselves camped
among the crevasses near the mountains and even on the glaciers
themselves, but in no other places than the two noted above were we
thus noisily saluted.
APPROACH TO THE MOUNTAINS
I’rom depot No. 4 at 81° 43’ 8. we now pioneered the way, estab-
lishing depots every 50 miles. We had planned to go directly south
to Axel Heiberg Glacier, but at depot No. 7 at 84° S. we changed our
course 15° to the west and thus proceeded directly to the foot of Liv
Glacier. From about 15 to 20 miles from the mountains the terrain
departed from the generally level habit it had presented. Gentle
rolls with a few crevasses began to appear. The rolls were so gentle
and so far apart that I did not realize the change in surface until
I looked behind to see dog teams disappearing in the hollows to
reappear again on the rolls. These first undulations were not more
than 10 to 20 feet high, and some must have been nearly a mile apart.
But as we neared the mountains the wrinkles became more pro-
nounced and closer together. Crevasses became more widespread,
more persistent, and longer. At no other place in the course of our
travels did we see a system of crevasses showing such an extensive
and regular development as these below Liv Glacier. On the polar
flight Commander Byrd had dropped us a number of aerial photo-
BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION—GOULD 241
graphs that Captain McKinley had taken on the base-laying flight,
one of them showing a system of crevasses so regular that we all
thought this particular print had been made with a celluloid grid,
with parallel lines scratched on it overlying the negative. Surely
there could be no such regularly spaced system of crevasses anywhere.
Instead, therefore, of altering our course to avoid them as far as
possible, we plunged headlong into the most frightfully uncertain
and hazardous traveling that we encountered all summer.
As we came still nearer to the mountains we were struck by the
fact that the crevasses and undulations were not crescentic to the
glacier outlets. They were rather so distributed as to indicate a
movement from an easterly direction parallel to the range front at
this place.
We camped at the foot of Liv Glacier on December 1 and on the
next day attempted an ascent. For the 2 or 3 miles of the ascent
these great rolls, some of which attained a height of 500 feet, still
persisted right up the glacier as though it had not been there. They
seemed to have triumphed over the puny giacier flow itself; without
disturbing the symmetry of the rolls, it had but caused their surfaces
to become crevassed. The aspect of the whole was like that suggested
by the waves forced up a harbor or broad river mouth in the wake
of a large vessel.
From Little America to within 15 miles of the mountains the
shelf-ice surface had been one of varied soft snow surfaces where
there had been apparently but little wind, to wide wind-swept areas
with hard sastrugi as much as 8 or 4 feet high and always showing
an east-southeast to west-northwest trend. But when we came close
to the mountains the snow surface changed in places to a hard
pebbled or rippled and icy surface. It seems that on occasion the
snow becomes so soft and mushy that it is beaten up into these tiny
ridges by the force of the wind. When we first experienced the
fohnlike wind down a glacier from the mountains we at once realized
how the temperature might be raised high enough to produce such
an effect.
THE MOUNTAINS AND THEIR STRUCTURE
From some 20 miles away we began to form our first definite
ideas about the mountains and the major aspects of their structure.
We saw a great array of ragged, irregular, rather low-lying peaks
backed up great tabular atin masses that towered far above
them. The tabular mountains immediately suggested horsts; and
the straight, even lines of at least some of the greater outlet glaciers
looked to me like depressed fault blocks. A further str iking impres-
sion of the mountains was the sharp clear-cut front of the whole
range—a typical sharply defined fault-line scarp.
242 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
More intimate views of the mountains demonstrated that their
topographic expression was a fairly safe guide to the character of
the rocks that composed them. The foothills with their ragged out-
lines are composed essentially of a great mass of dark-colored
micaceous gneisses and schists with smaller amounts of granites.
In some places this older mass was shot through with younger
lighter-colored granites giving to the whole a fairly bizarre striped
effect (pl. 4, fig. 1). Pegmatitic dikes and veins are not un-
common, and in places barren quartz veins stand out sharply against
the darker background. But taken as a whole the aspect is that of
a dark-colored series of old metamorphics. Doubtless these rocks
are pre-Cambrian, and wherever they constitute the mountain masses
they have been eroded into ragged and angular peaks. In contrast
the tabular mountains owe the regularity and evenness of their out-
lines to the fact that they are capped with a great series of practically
HORIZONTAL SCALE Antarctic Horst
5 10 MILES
VERTICAL SCALE
GREATLY EXAGGERATED
[ze Beacon Sandstone with Coal Seams re Dolerite Sills Younger Granites Sidi Precambrian Metamorphics
THE GEOGR. REVIEW, APR 193!
Ficure 1.—Generalized cross section of the Queen Maud Mountains
horizontal sandstones and shaly sandstones reinforced with dolerite
sills. When we came near enough we could see that the tabular
mountains were tilted upward toward the north, or the outer edge,
so that the plateau behind is generally lower than the scarp front
(fig., i):
A further persistent impression was that there were almost more
glaciers than mountains. Every little pocket and depression along
the scarp front has its individual glacier, but it is the great valley or
outlet glaciers like Liv, Axel Heiberg, and the even larger ones
farther east that break up the range.
MOUNT FRIDTJOF NANSEN
We had hoped to ascend Liv Glacier far enough to reach the flat-
lying rocks that top the tabular mountains. We had even hoped
that we could reach Mount Fridtjof Nansen this way. It was hope-
less. We broke camp on the 8d of December and made our way to
the foot of the glacier that takes its rise on the northwest slope of
Mount Fridtjof Nansen. Here in latitude 85° 7’ S. and longitude
163° 45’ W. we established our base camp, our depot No. 8, called
BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION—GOULD 243
Strom Camp in honor of Sverre Strom who had helped so much in
our preparations for the sledge trip. Without too much difficulty
we made our way up this glacier to the rocks on the northern slope
of Mount Fridtjof Nansen and at two separate points about 3 miles
apart climbed part way up the side of the mountain and thus got a
partial cross section of these long-sought rocks.
The flat-lying sandstone series was found to rest upon the even
surface of a coarse-grained gray granite. This contact zone was at
5,960 feet, and the series continues upward apparently to the very top
of the mountain itself, which means that it totals more than 7,000
feet in thickness. Both the sandstones themselves and the underlying
granite are intruded with dolerite sills, showing conspicuous vertical
jointing and weathering into angular pinnacled forms in contrast to
the softer outlines generally taken on by the sandstones themselves.
We climbed across a vertical exposure of 2,000 feet of this sand-
stone series. It exhibits some variation in texture and composition,
but its most characteristic aspect is that of a fairly fine-grained
yellow to gray, thinly banded sandstone with scattered lenses of white
sandstone up to 5 feet in thickness. In more massive phases it is
greatly cross-bedded. It passes into dark, even black, shaly facies
which contain considerable organic matter, sufficient in places to
identify the rock as a low-grade coal. From one such layer Thorne
brought some fragments of a hard, bright, shiny coal which burned
reluctantly when a match was applied. Of course the whole sand-
stone series, including the highly carbonaceous layers, has been
profoundly affected by the intrusion of the dolerite sills. In the
vertical section that we crossed about a third of the thickness was due
to the dolerite. Looking upward, one had the impression that the
sills were fewer and thinner toward the top. The sandstones are
almost everywhere quartzitic, and the shaly facies have been changed
in places into a hard rock with almost slaty cleavage.
There is no question that this great series of sandstones and asso-
ciated rocks is at least lithologically equivalent to Ferrar’s Beacon
sandstone of South Victoria Land. The lower portion of that sand-
stone, in places at least, is Devonian and grades upward into
Mesozoic with the great bulk of it comprised in the “ Perma-
Carboniferous” sandstones and coal measures. I have not com-
pleted the examination of the rocks we collected, so that I am not
prepared definitely to state whether they contain fossils or not. I
could find none in the field.
It was on our first ascent up the slopes of Mount Fridtjof Nansen
that Edward Goodale found bits of gray lichens. In the course of
the summer we found other growths even farther south than this,
though they were nowhere prolific.
149571—33——_17
244 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
To have proceeded to any great altitude on Mount Fridtjof Nansen
would have been fraught with considerable uncertainty and would
have consumed a great deal more time. We had determined the
significance of the flat-lying cap rocks and therefore decided to
turn our attention to sledging eastward along the foot of the range
toward its junction with the supposed Carmen Land, whose existence
we had begun seriously to doubt. This was an eventful journey.
Thorne undertook the task of mapping as we went along, an arrange-
ment which left me free to devote my attention to the rocks and
the glaciers.
EASTWARD ALONG THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAINS
It was soon seen that the fault scarp of the Queen Maud Moun-
tains proper proceeded almost due east from Axel Heiberg Glacier
rather than southeastward across the plateau or bounding it as
indicated by Amundsen. Furthermore, the proportion of old pre-
Cambrian ragged mountains increased, and the tabular mountains
retreated farther into the plateau and became ever lower as we pro-
ceeded eastward. Likewise, the outlet glaciers became ever larger,
though without being able to handle adequately the great volume of
ice that flows down from the plateau and almost smothers the moun-
tains eastward from the one hundred and fiftieth meridian. Even
so, one almost immediately discovers that the ice is much thinner
here than formerly. We climbed the outlying peaks in longitude
157° and found that to heights of as much as 800 feet above the
present ice level the mountain tops were rounded and_ polished
(pl. 4, figs. 2, 3). How much thicker the ice may have been
there is no way to tell. Farther eastward Supporting Party Moun-
tain and its associated nunataks appear to have been formerly cov-
ered by the ice. This is quite different from the conditions about
Axel Heiberg and Liv Glaciers. Doubtless Fridtjof Nansen, Ruth
Gade, and the other high mountains in this vicinity have always
been high enough partially to stem even the greatest streams of ice
from inland and thus prevent such extensive glaciation of the foot-
hills as we found prevalent to the eastward.
Supporting Party Mountain marked our farthest east; and, since
its location was east of the one hundred and fiftieth meridian, we
were within the sector claimed by the commander for the United
States and named by him in honor of his wife, Marie Byrd Land.
His claim was based on the fact that he had flown over the newly
discovered land in the latitude of Little America. In substantia-
tion we built a cairn on the top of Supporting Party Mountain and
raised the flag. Inside the cairn we left a tin can containing a note
BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION—GOULD 245
setting forth the fact that in the name of Commander Byrd we
claimed the land as a part of Marie Byrd Land.
From this mountain we could see 35 to 40 miles farther eastward.
The mountains appeared to be progressively lower. To the southeast
of us the tabular mountains—the structural equivalents of Mount
Fridtjof Nansen—were not more than 8,000 feet high. They define
the southern boundary of the great glacier that flows down from
the southeast. The whole fault structure seems to flatten out east-
wards. The very large glaciers near the end of our trek coalesce to
form a vast ice apron, which made travel both difficult and hazard-
ous. The east-west-trending glacier in Marie Byrd Land pours
forth such a volume of ice that it dominates the direction of flow
along the whole mountain front with the result already noted in
connection with Liv Glacier, namely that the flow of ice from the
plateau instead of being directly northward as one might expect is
toward the northwest.
Viewed as a whole the ice flow along the foot of the mountains gave
the unmistakable impression that the ice is much less active now than
formerly, probably when it was thicker. Most of the larger crevasses
seem to have long been stagnant and to have become completely filled
with snow and iced over. Throughout our Journey from Axel Hei-
berg Glacier to Marie Byrd Land and return we heard no cracking
as of ice under great strain and saw no unmistakable fresh crevasses.
Ten miles beyond the mouth of one of the larger glaciers we found
a great granite erratic (pl. 7, fig. 1), which seemed disproportion-
ately large to have been carried so far by the present stream of ice.
On December 20 we left Marie Byrd Land and started westward
toward our base camp. On Christmas Day we quite accidentally
stumbled onto what we had formerly looked for in vain—the cairn
left on Mount Betty by Amundsen 18 years earlier when he was
northward bound for Framheim from the pole. The next day found
us at Strom Camp making preparations for the return journey to
Little America.
SUMMARY OF GEOGRAPHIC RELATIONSHIPS
In summary, certain geographic relationships stood out as we
completed our work at the mountains:
The fault-block mountain structure of South Victoria Land is
extended more than 300 miles farther across the continent than it
had previously been known to exist.
Carmen Land of Amundsen, together of course with its possible
connection with nonexistent lands between latitudes 81° and 82°,
is removed from the map.
246 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The Queen Maud Mountains proper do not trend southeastward
from Axel Heiberg Glacier. This supposed plateau range represents
but the peaks that fringe the great outlet glaciers. From far out
on the shelf ice we could look many miles up these glaciers, and
Thorne was able to get sights on peaks along the glaciers at great
distances behind the front ranges themselves. It will be noticed that
Beardmore Glacier is fringed by such mountains, and it is easy to see
how anyone sledging or flying some distance to the east or west of
such a glacier and parallel to it would get the definite impression
that he was seeing a new mountain range. Yet it is at once appar-
ent that all of these are integral parts of the geological structure of
the great Queen Maud system itself.
Though the coal measures are not coextensive with the Beacon
sandstone, yet they are sufficiently so to enable us to state rather
definitely that the Antarctic has coal reserves second only to those
of the United States. The discovery of coal on Mount Fridtjof
Nansen and the extension of the Beacon sandstones at least to longi-
tude 145° W. add many thousands of square miles to the coal areas
already known in South Victoria Land.
The removal of Carmen Land from the map and the extension of
the Ross Shelf Ice eastward at least as far as the one hundred and
fortieth meridian in the latitude of our journey reopens the old ques-
tion of the connection of Ross and Weddell Seas. Two newly ob-
served features offer possible objections to this hypothesis—Leverett
Glacier and the Edsel Ford Mountains. Leverett Glacier is by
all odds the largest outlet glacier seen by us; and, so far as we
could tell, the relatively small streams of ice that fed it from the
south were insufficient to account for its great volume. Its very
direction of flow suggests a source not necessarily from the south but
rather from some great opening toward the east, as though there
were a mountain wall in that direction. Nevertheless we could see
no such structure, and it may possibly be explained by the existence
of larger tributary glaciers from the south beyond our vision. ‘The
nunataks east of Supporting Party Mountain help to give it a west-
erly flow.
The Edsel Ford Mountains beyond King Edward VII Land, dis-
covered on the flight of December 5, 1929, were photographed from
so great a distance that one can not draw positive conclusions from
the aerial photographs. But these appear to show a great range with
a straight fault-line scarp that suggests the structure of the Queen
Maud Mountains. It is possible that these new mountains are con-
nected somewhere with the Queen Maud Mountains and so constitute
the eastern structural boundary of the great Ross senkungsfeld.
This of course does not necessarily follow. At any rate, what is one
BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION—GOULD 247
of the greatest questions in the geologic relationship of major struc-
tures anywhere in the world remains still to be answered—the rela-
tionship of East to West Antarctica. Investigation of the Edsel
Ford Mountains would probably add important and perhaps defini-
tive light on this question. These mountains may be not the fault-
block type but a folded Andean structure, for it is in this part of the
Antarctic that one would expect a continuation of the fold structures
of the Antarctic Archipelago if they reappear anywhere.
THE ROSS SHELF ICE
Because of the fact that the journey of the geological party threw
much light on it, I have left until the end any discussion of the most
distinctive of Antarctic glacial features, the Ross Shelf Ice.
From the time of its discovery by Sir James Clark Ross in 1840
to this day the Ross Shelf Ice, to employ a term that seems preferable
to Ross Barrier, has impressed Antarctic explorers as one of the
unique works of nature. It ends on the north in a dazzlingly white
cliff that stretches for 500 miles in an east-west direction roughly
in latitude 78° S. It is thus the boundary of the southern navigable
limits of the Ross Sea. This great snow-ice cliff prevented Ross
from sailing farther south in his quest for the magnetic pole and
hence was referred to by him as a barrier. If the term Ross Barrier
is to be used at all it should refer only to the northward-facing cliff
of this great sheet of shelf ice that covers well over a quarter of a
million square miles.
This cliff, or barrier, varies greatly in height from place to place
and from time to time. It was restudied, for the first time after its
discovery, by Scott in 1901-1904. He made soundings all along its
front and also measured its height above sea level. The sound-
ings demonstrated that the water was everywhere too deep for any
part of the front of the shelf ice to be resting on the bottom. He
found the altitude to vary from 20 to 240 feet above sea level. The
next observations were those made by the British Antarctic expedi-
tion in 1907-1909 and indicated a height ranging from 20 to 200 feet.
When the Zerra Nova visited the region in 1911 no spot higher than
150 feet was observed. We of the Byrd expedition made our first
landing at Discovery Inlet. Here we found the height to be 60 feet.
From here we sailed eastward along the shelf-ice scarp to the Bay of
Whales; and, though we did not land again to make accurate meas-
urements, there was no place along this stretch that seemed higher
than at Discovery Inlet. In places it descended as low as from 6 to
10 feet. Immediately east of the Bay of Whales, in fact bounding
a part of it, the height was found by measurement to be 200 feet.
248 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
ORIGIN OF THE ROSS SHELF ICE
Scott believed the present shelf ice to be a relict or direct descend-
ant of the old and much greater structure formed during the period
of maximum glaciation. David elaborated this idea. He described
the shelf ice as being essentially a great shrunken piedmont formed
mainly by the confluence of the glacial streams that flow down from
the plateau and fan out. These great ice streams are, in other words,
ribs that flatten out away from their sources. The intervals between
them have been frozen over, and snow has accumulated upon this sea
ice until the whole has assumed a more or less common level.
Priestley differentiates two main methods of shelf-ice formation
according to the relative importance of the basa! element, whether sea
ice or land ice. He believes that the Ross Shelf Ice criginated chiefly
upon sea ice formed in a comparatively landlocked and shoal area.®
It is quite impossible to estimate quantitatively the relative im-
portance of these two sources of supply, iand ice and sea ice, for
the ice shelf. Unquestionably the great outlet glaciers such as
Beardmore, Liv, and the rest are more important sources and are
the causes of the movements within the shelf ice itself. Yet when we
crossed the shelf at its widest part on our way to and from the Queen
Maud Mountains we failed to observe any undulations that might
represent the ribs, and we did get the very distinct impression that
the greater part might have been formed essentially by sea ice be-
coming permanent and snow accumulating upon it. In the vicinity
of the Bay of Whales we saw no evidence that glacial ice ever played
a part. Not even in the overturned icebergs did we find any unmis-
takable glacial ice. Little America was built upon a shelf-ice bay 30
feet above sea level surrounded on the inland sides by older and
higher shelf ice. According to Martin Ronne, who was with Amund-
sen, the Little America basin was a bay of open water with an ice-
berg in it back in 1911-12 when Amundsen was established near by
at Framheim. ‘The independence of this newer piece of shelf ice is
evidenced by the fact that where it merges with the older and higher
shelf ice it is yet separated from it by planes of disjunction indi-
cated either by crevasses or definitely aligned haycocks.
CHANGES IN THE SHELF FRONT
Scott’s earliest observations showed that in places masses of ice
as much as 385 to 40 miles in width had gone out to sea since it
was first charted by Ross. The whole ice front at that time ap-
peared to have retreated some 30 miles since Ross’s visit. Neverthe-
5 David, T. W. E., and Priestley, R. E., Geology (Sci. Results British Antarctic Expedi-
tion 1907-1909), vol. 1, p. 125, London, 1914.
° Wright, C. S., and Priestley, R. E., Glaciology (British (Terra Nova) Antarctic Expe-
dition 1910-1913), pp. 1638-169 and 205-222, London, 1922.
BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION—GOULD 249
less, since the first surveys by Scott in 1902 the shelf-ice front or
barrier does not seem to have appreciably changed its latitude; yet
there have been great northward movements in parts of it. Alter-
nate observations by Scott and Shackleton near McMurdo Sound
indicate a northward movement of more than 1,000 feet a year;
but even here the front has remained more or less stationary. The
ice is pushed forward, breaks off as bergs, and floats away. We have
no measurements giving us a definite northward rate of movement
anywhere else. Eastward from Discovery Inlet to the Bay of
Whales our hasty observations indicated that there had been no
fundamental changes in outline since the Scott survey of 1902. True
enough, Discovery Inlet had a somewhat different outline from
that given on Scott’s charts; but it was still obviously the same bay
mapped by Scott.
We found in places that the outline of the Bay of Whales had
greatly changed since Amundsen’s surveys. With the help of Ronne
we were able rather definitely to locate Framheim, and so far as
we can judge from Amundsen’s astronomical observations compared
with our own there has been no pronounced northward movement
since his time. Cape Man’s Head, one of the most distinctive features
on the east side of the bay, looks very much as it did when photo-
graphed by Amundsen. Nevertheless, there is a considerable amount
of movement in the shelf ice about the Bay of Whales; and the ice
of the bay itself underwent profound changes even during our brief
stay beside it. From the southern end of the Bay of Whales we noted
the same two great zones of active crevasses observed by Amundsen.
One trends southwest and the other southeast, and both could be
followed inland 30 to 40 miles. The ice of the Bay of Whales itself
is subject to intense lateral thrusts. In places the strain has been
relieved by the formation of the great pressure ridges; in other parts
of the bay and often between the pressure ridges themselves the ice
has been squeezed into a great series of veritable anticlines and syn-
clines. In the main part of the bay the axes of these folds are paral-
lel to the axis of the bay. Whence come the great thrusts that have
caused all this disturbance without noticeably affecting the shelf-ice
boundaries on either side is still largely a mystery. A complete aerial
survey was made of the bay, and perhaps when the mosaic is com-
pleted we shall be able to answer this question and further deter-
mine the relation of the major crevasse zones to the ice phenomena
of the bay itself.
In attempting to reach Little America during the summer of 1930
the City of New York was blown far to the westward, fetching up
against the shelf ice within sight of Mount Erebus; and thus in
order to reach the Bay of Whales she had to sail along almost its
entire front. Time was too short to make any but the most hasty
250 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
surveys. These did not include accurate latitude measurements of
the shelf-ice front to see whether it had advanced or receded. They
did, however, show many changes in outline along the portion west-
ward from Discovery Inlet. Where Scott had found indentations
there were now none, and again new indentations had formed where
there were none before.
It is of interest here to return to the observations made by the
geological party. The very direction of the ice flow along the foot
of the mountains mapped indicates a maximum outward push in the
western portion of the shelf ice, to say nothing, of course, of the great
amount of ice flowing out from Beardmore and the other outlet
glaciers west of Liv. Furthermore, the crevasses between latitudes
81° and 82° indicate that the shelf ice is here held back by land or a
submerged reef of some sort which definitely obstructs the direct
northward flow of ice. Again, the great hill south of Little America
further blocks a northward movement of the shelf ice; and finally
Commander Byrd found crevasses in latitude 80° 45’ S., longitude
173° W., west of the crevassed region we crossed. ‘These observa-
tions but further substantiate David’s studies that from Discovery
Inlet eastward the shelf-ice front has not undergone great changes in
recent years.
COMPOSITION OF THE SHELF ICE
The presence of numerous crevasses about Little America as well
as the exposed face of the shelf ice gave us abundant opportunity
to study its composition. Everywhere above sea level it is made up
of snow. ‘The top few inches to 3 or 4 feet is made up of ordinary
snow. ‘The remainder down to sea level is composed of granular
snow. Nowhere could we make out a systematic arrangement
of layers of this granular snow. Sufficient melting to form crusts
is rare, and there seems little or no way to distinguish between sea-
sonal amounts of precipitation. The speed with which this gran-
ular snow accommodates itself by flowage was a surprise to all of us.
Haines and Harrison, the meteorologists, made a snow house for
storing their kites; and at a depth of about 5 feet below the surface
level they dug caves horizontally into the walls to make additional
storage room. Within four months the roofs of these small caves
had sagged as much as 6 to 8 inches across a span of 4 feet. Al this
happened under the severest temperature conditions of the year.
The caves were made in the late fall, and the measurements were
taken in the spring.
Particularly where the crevasses go down to the sea the rising
moist air has left along the walls and pendant from the roofs an
array of ice crystals prodigious in size and infinitely varied in form
while always of the hexagonal system. It was common to find
individual crystals from 5 to 10 inches across.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Gould PLATE 1
Photograph by A. C. McKinley
1. AERIAL VIEW OF THE MAIN GROUP OF THE ROCKEFELLER MOUNTAINS
2. TYPICAL VIEW IN THE ROCKEFELLER MOUNTAINS
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Gould PLATE 2
Photograph by A. C. McKinley
1. OUTLET OF LIV GLACIER, SHOWING SYSTEM OF CREVASSES
Photograph by A. C. McKinley
2. MOUNT FRIDTJOF NANSEN, IN THE BACKGROUND
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Gould PLATE 3
1. ‘‘SASTRUGI’’ ON THE SHELF-ICE SURFACE NEAR THE MOUNTAINS
The ski stick gives a scale.
Photograph by A. C. McKinley
3. CREVASSES IN LIV GLACIER
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Gould PLATE 4
1. ROCK FACE BETWEEN LIV AND AXEL HEIBERG GLACIERS
od
¢ ae
Te Pe eS ee. Hae A
3. GLACIATED MOUNTAINS IN THE FRONT RANGES OF THE QUEEN MAUD MOUN-
TAINS IN LONGITUDE 157° W.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Gould PLATE 5
1. AXEL HEIBERG GLACIER WITH MOUNT FRIDTJOF NANSEN ON THE RIGHT,
RUTH GADE ON THE LEFT, AND DON PEDRO CHRISTOPHERSON IN THE
MIDDLE
2. LOW-LYING HILLS OF OLD PRE-CAMBRIAN ROCKS WITH HIGHER TABULAR
MOUNTAINS IN BACKGROUND. LIV GLACIER AHEAD WITH MOUNT FRIDTJOF
NANSEN ON THE LEFT
Photograph by A. C. McKinley
3. LIV GLACIER ON THE RIGHT, PRE-CAMBRIAN MOUNTAINS IN FOREGROUND
WITH TABULAR MOUNTAINS CAPPED WITH BEACON SANDSTONE IN BACK-
GROUND
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Gould PLATE 6
1. HORNS ON THE RIDGE SEPARATING THE HEAD OF LIV GLACIER FROM THE
ONE NORTH OF MOUNT FRIDTJOF NANSEN
2. TOP OF MOUNT FRIDTJOF NANSEN, SHOWING BEACON SANDSTONE WITH
DARK SILLS OF DOLERITE
3. FIRST BIG OUTLET GLACIER EAST OF AXEL HEIBERG
Smithsonian Report, 1932—Gould PLATE 7
1. A GREAT GRANITE ERRATIC AT MOUTH OF THORNE GLACIER
sa SS i 20 LG te
elle se et ae
2. MOUTH OF THORNE GLACIER
3. CAMP COMAN IN MARIE BYRD LAND, SHOWING DARK PRE-CAMBRIAN META-
MORPHICS INTRUDED BY YOUNGER LIGHT-COLORED GRANITES AND PEGMA-
TIRES
4. FRONT RANGES IN MARIE BYRD LAND
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Gould PLATE 8
Photograph by A. C. McKinley
1. FAULTING AND FOLDING IN BAY OF WHALES
Photograph by A. C. McKinley
2. ROLL OR ANTICLINES IN BAY OF WHALES FORMED BY LATERAL PRESSURE
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Could PLATE 9
1. FLOWAGE OF THE SHELF ICE AS SEEN IN A SMALL STORAGE CAVE
ZICEIGRYShAL
Crystals of this size are not uncommon.
U
li
1 :
en
i
ul
"aS
a
uy :
co
uy
At cif
L?
Y
®
e
SOME PHASES OF MODERN DEEP-SEA OCEANOGRAPHY
WITH A DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THE EQUIPMENT AND METHODS OF THE
NEWLY FORMED WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION?
By C. O’D. ISELIN, II
[With 4 plates]
Until recent years physical oceanography was too frequently con-
sidered a branch of science having little importance except to those
interested in the ocean itself. This feeling perhaps resulted from
the fact that on the earlier expeditions the main emphasis was placed
on marine biology, and physical observations were first made mainly
with the purpose of exploring the environment of marine plants
and animals. Later there developed the necessity of studying the
ocean currents and their influence in the transportation of sea life.
As a result the physical oceanographer came to be thought of as
one who charted the various physical characteristics of the ocean
and who had as his ultimate goal the understanding of oceanic
circulation.
At the present time, however, it is becoming increasingly evident
that several other branches of science must turn to the sea, and
therefore to the oceanographers, for help, for only in oceanography
can be found the men and equipment for the investigation of the
ocean and the problems related to it. Let us briefly consider some
examples in which the oceanographer can do important work outside
the original conception of his field.
In the first place, geology is naturally much concerned with the
ocean basins. Have they been permanent features on the earth’s
surface, or in the past has there been dry land where now the chart
shows one or more thousand fathoms of water? Convincing proof
that will settle this problem one way or another can perhaps be
brought to light by the oceanographer. A careful study of marine
deposits might point to former land bridges between the continents
in such a way that they could be accurately located and even dated,
much to the satisfaction of all students of the geographic distribu-
tion of modern plants and animals, as well as to geologists. Perhaps
a less spectacular problem is that of the formation of continental
1 Contribution No. 14, of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
251
252 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
shelves. Again there is reason to believe that the question can best
be settled by a careful study of bottom deposits. Thus oceanographic
institutions, having developed a technique for bringing up deep-sea
mud in the course of exploring the oceans, are now realizing more
fully the wide geologic importance of this type of work. With
proper equipment much can be learned from the ocean bottom which
will extend geologic knowledge out beyond the beach line and per-
haps open up a sounder theory for the formation of the earth’s
surface.
In the same way, but perhaps not to the same extent, meteorologi-
cal investigations have been largely confined to the air above the
continents. Not only is there much meteorological research work
to be done at sea, but this science is closely bound up with oceanog-
raphy. For example, how much influence have fluctuations in the
ocean currents on variations in climate and vice versa? From a
more technical standpoint, students in dynamic meteorology and dy-
namic oceanography now see more clearly how similar is the prin-
ciple of the circulation of the atmosphere to that of the ocean. Thus
we can expect in the future a closer relationship between the physical
oceanographer and other geophysical students, for many of their
problems are interrelated.
On the other hand, the scope and importance of marine biological
work has been more generally recognized and in certain lines, for
example, fisheries investigations, has developed relatively fast. ‘The
many marine laboratories of the world are good evidence that
physiologists have realized the importance of studying life in its
most natural environment. Hand in hand with the development of
marine biology has gone the study of the chemistry of sea water
and such questions as the penetration of light below the sea sur-
face and its influence on the life in the upper water layers.
Thus at the present time, oceanography has passed the stage of
a science in which the collection and tabulation of facts is considered
the main aim, and it is now evident that much productive research
of wide interest can be carried out at sea. The reader perhaps now
realizes that an oceanographic institution must have on its staff
men of wide training and experience in science as well as the
specialists in the more restricted phases of oceanography.
The investigation of the ocean naturally divides itself into deep-
water problems and shallow-water problems. The well-known fact
that most continental land masses are surrounded by a broad, rela-
tively shallow shelf of water less than 100 fathoms deep and that
the ocean basins are uniformly twenty or thirty times as deep,
serves to emphasize this distinction. Investigations along the coast
and even out as far as the edge of the continental shelf can be
OCEANOGRAPH Y——ISELIN 253
carried out from almost any boat and with quite inexpensive equip-
ment. Deep-sea oceanography, on the other hand, is an expensive
undertaking requiring a strong, able vessel and elaborate winches
and instruments. For these reasons there are a number of scientific
institutions actively engaged in studies of the shallow-water areas
of the ocean, but relatively few can conduct researches outside the
hundred-fathom curve. in several ways this state of affairs has been
unfortunate in the development of some phases of oceanography,
because the shallow waters over the continental shelves are usually
much affected by the circulation of the waters of the ocean basins,
while tidal and other influences often obscure the picture to such
an extent that isolated problems can not be easily settled.
On the other hand, the shallow-water areas are, of course, the seat
of the world’s fisheries and for that reason merit governmental study.
But even in the case of fisheries investigations, the oceanic waters can
not be ignored, because it has been shown that the sudden failures of
a fishing ground are sometimes caused by movements of the oceanic
waters which periodically flood in over the banks, changing the tem-
perature of the bottom water and driving off the fish. In other
words, the investigation of the sea has progressed largely from the
shore outward, while it is now evident that there would have been
some advantage to oceanography as a whole if it had been possible to
put more effort into deep-sea investigations during the early stages
of the science. It is perhaps not an exaggeration to say that the
heart of most oceanographic problems is to be found in the deep ocean
beyond the limits of the continental shelves.
The fact that there has recently been established in the United
States an institution largely devoted to deep-sea oceanography is
therefcre of considerable interest. The Woods Hole Oceanographic
Institution, with its headquarters on Cape Cod, is ideally situated for
the investigation of the North Atlantic Ocean. The institution is
now a going concern with adequate money to support a well-equipped
laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass., and a specially designed research
ship. If, in the succeeding pages, the reader finds that we have
stressed the equipment and methods of this institution unduly, it is
because it was founded to counteract the situation in oceanography
outlined above and in many ways, we believe, holds a unique position
in the world to-day.
The main distinction between an oceanographer and other men of
science is that the oceanographer goes to sea. His ship is the all-
important part of his scientific equipment for he must be able to make
observations in all kinds of weather and at great depths. Not only
must he often remain far out at sea for months at a time, but also he
must be ready to take an active part in securing his observations.
254 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
No matter how well trained the research ship’s crew may be, the
scientist must thoroughly understand the difficulties and limitations
of the work, or he will not be able to evaluate the results properly or
suggest practical programs for scientific cruises.
Many types of vessels can be used for oceanography with good
results. Fishing craft of various types have proved very satisfactory.
The main points are that the vessel should be entirely seaworthy and
able to remain at sea longer than ordinary commercial usage requires.
For the investigator of the chemistry of sea water especially, the
steadier the ship, the more accurate will be his work. But to gain
steadiness by using a large ship is often a disadvantage. If the boat
is too large, besides being expensive to operate, the scientists are not
close enough to the water to handle easily much of their equipment.
One solution is to use a sailing vessel, because the sails tend to prevent
the boat from rolling excessively in a rough sea. In oceanography,
then, we find one instance, at least, where the sailing ship can hold out
successfully against the inroads of steam.
One of the most modern examples of a scientific research ship is
the Atlantis operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
She was built especially for the work, after considerable thought,
and embodies the experience of many men familiar with carrying
out scientific work at sea. The result is a boat that is very satis-
factory and at least represents one solution to the problem. She
is an auxiliary, steel ketch of about 460 tons displacement, and car-
ries 7,200 square feet of canvas. Her general dimensions are:
Length on deck, 142 feet; beam, 29 feet; and draft, 17 feet. She is
powered with a 280-horsepower Diesel engine, which besides pro-
pelling the ship at a speed of 9 knots in calm weather, supplies
through a dynamo the power for the heavy trawl winch. A much
smaller Diesel engine generates the power for light, ventilation, and
refrigeration, as well as for the hydrographic winch. Perhaps the
most specialized piece of equipment is the trawl winch, located,
because of its great weight, in the lower hold. It carries 5,000
fathoms of special steel cable of 14-inch diameter, with a break-
ing strain of about 12 tons. The hydrographic winch, used mainly
for lighter work such as securing deep-sea temperatures and water
samples, carries a similar length of much lighter wire and is located
on deck. Both winches are electrically driven and fitted with auto-
matic devices for guiding the wire smoothly on the drums.
The Atlantis accommodations include cabins aft for a scientific
staff of five, and amidships two laboratories, one opening out to the
deck where the rough work is done and another directly below it
where the chemical analyses are carried out and where the micro-
biologist can examine the catch of his silk net without being dis-
OCEANOGRAPHY—ISELIN 259
turbed. The permanent crew, exclusive of the scientific staff,
numbers 17 men. They have comfortable quarters, and there is
ample storage space below decks. The vessel is a smart sailer and
an excellent sea boat. Her rig, though small for the size of the hull,
is efficient and ideally adapted for heaving to, which is most
important for this type of work.
The primary instrument of the physical oceanographer is the
deep-sea reversing thermometer. These are now sent down in
pairs, one open to the pressure of the water and the other inclosed
in a heavy glass case. The significance of this we will see presently.
Both the protected and the unprotected thermometers are of the
same construction. On being turned over the column of mercury
breaks off at a constriction in the capillary and the temperature is
read as the length of this detached thread of mercury. ‘Thus the
reading can not be changed on the long haul to the surface by pass-
ing through the much warmer surface layers. The deep-sea ther-
mometers are now very accurate and can record the temperature to
a hundredth part of a degree centigrade. The pairs of thermometers
are sent down in frames which are mounted on the side of in-
struments known as water bottles. These are fastened to the wire
cable at suitable intervals and lowered over the ship’s side. A small
weight, or messenger, is then slid down the wire, which, on striking
the uppermost instrument, closes the openings of the water bottle,
reverses the thermometers, and releases another messenger which
slides on down the wire and repeats the operation with the next
instrument. Thus a series of 10 or more water samples and pairs of
thermometer readings can be secured at one lowering. In deep
water it may take several such lowerings, each successively deeper,
to constitute a station.
Although the thermometers and water bottles have been in use
for many years and have gradually become much improved in de-
sign, there was still one grave inaccuracy which has only recently
been eliminated. The depth of each observation was formerly re-
corded as the length of wire, measured on a wheel of known circum-
ference, from the sea surface to each water bottle. However, in gen-
eral the wire did not remain vertical in the water. The angle the
wire took depended on the relative motions of the ship, the surface
layers, and the deep, nearly motionless water masses. In other words,
the wire would not only enter the water at an angle, but probably
formed an S-shaped curve of unknown extent, so that the depths of
all observations was problematical. Since one of the purposes of
temperature and salinity observations is to assist in the study of
ocean currents—and in regions of currents the trouble of large wire
angles (often as much as 40° from the vertical) is at a maximum—it
256 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
was a great advance when the use of unprotected thermometers be-
came general a few years ago. This method really measures the
pressure existing at each instrument of a given series and from these
the depths are calculated. The pressure of the water compresses the
glass of the unprotected thermometer and makes it read higher than
the protected thermometer with which it is paired. The difference
in reading between the two instruments can then be translated into
depth and with a surprising degree of accuracy. Not only are re-
liable depths now secured for the temperature observations taken
from a modern research ship, but of course these same depths are
good for the samples brought up by the water bottles. The water
samples are of sufficient volume so that besides salinity, several other
chemical factors can be determined. In fact, all physical observa-
tions made with this apparatus are now on a comparatively accurate
basis.
The primary collecting instrument of the marine biologist is, of
course, a net of one sort or another. Many different types are em-
ployed, depending on what type of animals or plants are sought and
on whether the collections are to be obtained from the bottom, the
surface, or intermediate depths. Of late years, attention (formerly
directed chiefly to the bottom fauna) has been largely centered on
the drifting community of animals and _ plants—the so-called
“plankton ”—-which are captured as a rule with some form of
tow net. ows made deep down in the water have, until recently,
been confused by the same inaccuracy as have the routine physical
observations, namely, the uncertainty as to the precise depths from
which the captured specimens came. Not only was the maximum
depth reached by the net uncertain but also the animals might have
gotten in on the way down or on the way up. This last source of
error is especially serious in the case of deep-sea tows, for with these
the time involved in lowering and raising the net may be several
times as long as the horizontal tow itself. Even for plankton work
near the surface, it has been difficult to know at just what depth
the net had been fishing or to do accurate quantitative work with
more than one net at a time. Improvement in the technique of
tow-net work has come gradually and is perhaps not yet at a satis-
factory stage of development.
One of the first steps was the perfecting of nets which can be
sent down closed, opened during the tow, and closed again before
being hauled to the surface. Another improvement has been the
use of a kind of bucket at the back end of the net which protects
the catch from being rubbed too much against the netting during
the long haul to the surface. As many deep-sea animals are ruined
as specimens through this cause as through the release in pressure
OCEANOGRAPHY— ISELIN 257
on nearing the surface. This destructive release in pressure, which
at first destroyed nearly all specimens of deep-sea fish by causing
gas bubbles to form in the tissue, can now be fairly well prevented
by using much the same methods as employed in raising a diver.
Recently on the Atlantis it has been found possible to make as
many as five simultaneous tows with closing nets and know the exact
depth of each catch. In this method the wire is so heavily weighted
that it remains practically vertical during the tow and the nets are
fastened to it one below the other at known intervals. A system of
messengers sent down the wire operate the opening and closing
devices of the nets. Not only are the opening and closing devices
extremely satisfactory but also a further refinement has resulted.
Since the frames of the nets are fastened to the wire rigidly, there
is no bridle in front of the opening to scare away the animals in the
net’s path. With large deep-sea nets designed for catching more
active animals such refinements are not yet in practice. In fact, even
though the net used may be of the closing type, the depth at which
the catch is made usually becomes somewhat problematical if the
towing wire is at any considerable angle from the vertical. There
has been some experiment with pressure instruments which should
record the depth of the net at all times during the tow, but there are
still many difficulties which must be met. The technique of deep-
sea tow-net work is further complicated by the fact that the nets used
to-day do not stand much hard usage and soon develop holes and
tears which always try the patience of the oceanographer. It is a
matter of time and money before biological work at sea can be
conducted with satisfactory accuracy.
The study of bottom samples taken from the floor of the ocean
has always been productive and has aroused considerable interest
among geologists as well as oceanographers. The recent develop-
ments in this field have also much improved the accuracy and use of
the observations. The old-fashioned piano-wire sounding machine
can now be replaced by the accurate and almost automatic sonic
method, so that the exact depth of the water can be found at all
times. Formerly it took several hours to make each sounding and
by the time the wire was hauled back aboard, the vessel could have
drifted into water having a different depth. For all bottom sample
work, the operation is made much easier by knowing the depth in
advance. Otherwise several hundred fathoms extra wire may be
run out before the observer is sure his sampling device has reached
bottom. With any sampler more complicated than the ordinary
sounding tube this may be a great disadvantage. The extra cable
coiled on the bottom may kink and the instrument will probably be
lost when strain is again put on the wire.
258 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
It is a great advantage to investigators to have the bottom sample
come up in a water-tight condition so that none of the fine washings
are lost on the long haul to the surface. To meet these requirements
much attention has been devoted, of late, to devising improve-
ments on the simple “snapper ” and other devices which have long
been used. For example, various types of valves have been tried
that will prevent the mud from washing out of the sounding tube.
Other more modern samplers are designed to secure long cores of
the bottom material. With the present equipment, samples up to
3 or 4 feet in length have been brought up, and these have shown
that the deposits on the ocean floor are often stratified. It is through
the study of such material that eventually the problem of whether or
not the bottom of the present deep ocean has ever been above sea-
level will probably be settled. Still another type of sampler has
been gradually evolved that will take either sand or mud from the
region over the continental shelf. Another type, mainly used in
shallow water, brings up a given area of the bottom which can
then be studied for the plant and animal life and their relations as a
feeding ground of commercial fish.
We have perhaps described enough of the modern oceanographic
equipment to show the reader that not only is the design of all gear
being gradually improved, but that the technique of securing good
observations from a small ship can not be easy even in favorable
weather. It is this mechanical or engineering side of oceanography
that has attracted a good many men to the field. It often seems to
the harassed investigator that the sea hides some monster which is
most antagonistic to having his realm explored. Unforeseen things
are constantly hampering the work of each oceanographic expedi-
tion. For example, there are several kinds of marine animals which
become wound around the hydrographic wire and stop the messen-
gers. Often a piece of apparatus comes up which has not worked
because the messenger never reached it, and this after hours of
waiting while miles of cable were unwound and rewound on the
winch. If the submarine “devils” are not interfering with the
work, the “devils” of stormy weather are very apt to seize the
opportunity to persecute the sleepy oceanographer who has perhaps
been struggling for hours to complete a series of observations. In
wintertime it is a real fight to go to sea and to return home with
any of the secrets of the sea safely recorded in the scientific log book.
Thus storms and salt water must be combated continually; and al-
though most sensible people very wisely stay ashore, the work at sea
holds a real fascination through its difficulties and discomforts, to
a small but enthusiastic group of men working in the various oceano-
graphic fields.
OCEANOGRAPH Y— ISELIN 259
In order that those unfamiliar with deep-sea oceanographic work
may get some idea of the type of problems now being studied, we
will describe presently the investigations made by the Atlantis dur-
ing the past year. Since these have been largely in the field of
physical oceanography it will be necessary first to point out a few
of the features of the circulation of the North Atlantic, bearing in
mind that, although we will be discussing the North Atlantic, the
same problems exist in the other oceans, as they all work in the same
manner. ‘Therefore, discoveries in any ocean can usually be applied
to the others. In other words, it is not necessary to sail very great
distances to do important oceanographic research.
The current system of the North Atlantic basin, as in the case of
the other oceans, is partly convectional in nature and partly wind-
driven. Since the water is heated near the equator and cooled in
the north, a current system is naturally set up owing to the distribu-
tion of density resulting from the thermal inequalities. On the
other hand, the evaporation at the sea surface is probably on the
whole greater than the precipitation in the southern half of the
ocean, and the reverse in the north. Through this cause, the surface
water is made relatively heavy in the south and thus the distribu-
tion of density due to temperature is partly counteracted and the
convectional circulation, much dependent on temperature, some-
what retarded. It is thought that the Gulf Stream system is largely
a manifestation of this need for thermal transfer from south to
north.
In the southern North Atlantic the water movements are probably
dominated by the trade winds which blow the surface waters west-
ward towards the islands of the West Indies, so that the water level
in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico may be somewhat
higher than farther north. At any rate, the result is a swift current
through the Straits of Florida and the beginning of the Gulf Stream,
which carries some of the warm southern water northward to the
Grand Banks and then eastward toward Europe. But the forces
which maintain the eastward drift in the northern latitudes are
probably only partly convectional in nature, for in these latitudes the
prevailing westerly winds undoubtedly exert a strong influence. In
this manner a huge clockwise eddy is maintained in the North
Atlantic.
Owing to the fact that the waters of the ocean are usually arranged
in stable layers, and that Archimedian forces tend to keep these
layers horizontal, unless disturbed by some outside force, the char-
acter of such a current as the Gulf Stream is surprising. Through
the effect of the earth’s rotation the normally horizontal water lay-
ers are sloped across the path of any current so that the lighter water
149571—33——_18
260 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
lies deeper on the right side (in the northern hemisphere). In the
case of the Gulf Stream, this means that the warm water must he
deeper on the southeastern side. In other words, half of the current
consists of relatively cold water and half of relatively warm water,
because the isotherms slope sharply across its path. In the case of
the 10° isotherm, for example, this means a slope of from 200 meters
on the western side of the stream to 800 meters on the offshore edge,
the current being about 50 miles wide off New York. The Gulf
Stream then is not a river of warm water flowing through colder
seas, but the boundary between a body of relatively cold water and
the mass of warm, central, Atlantic water. It follows then that the
Gulf Stream, by which we mean the whole of the convectional cur-
rent along the eastern North American seaboard and not just the
surface layer, does not transport the warmest water northeastward.
Even at the surface, the warmest water is not over the stream unless
displaced by easterly winds. From a technical point of view, it is
wrong to think of the Gulf Stream as being a river of warm water,
although it is the existence of warm water in the southern North
Atlantic which is its cause. The current, because of the earth’s
rotation and the stable arrangement of the water layers, only ac-
complishes what it sets out to do in a most inefficient manner.
But besides this horizontal circulation, at the same time there exists
much slower vertical movements. Some of the cold, relatively heavy
northern water sinks and gradually moves southward along the
bottom, only to rise again near the equator. That these two sys-
tems exist can be clearly and easily demonstrated from the observa-
tions already recorded, and some progress has been made by study-
ing the pressure field of the ocean in much the same way as is done
in meteorology. The region south and east of Bermuda, known as
the Sargasso Sea, corresponds to a permanent high-pressure area on
a weather map. Such southward-moving tongues of cold water as
the Labrador current can be compared to the polar fronts of the
meteorologists. But sea water, in contrast to air, is nearly incom-
pressible and is usually found to be well stratified and therefore
quite stable. Moreover, it is out of the question for oceanographers
to secure any such instantaneous picture of the pressure field as in
a weather map and besides it is not known to what extent the ocean
circulation is wind driven.
Thus it is an unfortunate fact that as we look more closely into
the ocean currents and attempt to find reasons for their paths and
characteristics, we must admit that this phase of oceanography
is at a most awkward stage. The existing observations are too few
to explain more than the broadest picture, and as each expedition
brings back modern data, that is, sections made up of closely spaced
OCEANOGRAPH Y—ISELIN 261
stations, it is evident that many of the early ideas are unsound.
Since it would be impracticable for any one institution to attempt
a complete survey of the North Atlantic, all existing observations
must be combined to show the general scheme of circulation and
test cases must be studied to explain the peculiarities.
At the present time, among the foremost problems in ocean circula-
tion are the following: (1) The relative importance of wind and
convectional forces; (2) the question of whether ocean currents flow
steadily and in continuous paths or spasmodically; (3) the effect of
seasonal changes in surface temperature. As an initial approach to
the first problem there is a need for quantitative data. What force
does a wind exert at the sea surface? The question has been studied
by the mathematician, Ekman, and the theory of his famous spiral
is well known. It has been suggested that if the wind drives the
surface layers of the ocean they in turn must retard the lower strata
of air. Ekman’s spiral should exist in both the ocean current set-up
and in a reversed direction in the lower layers of the atmosphere.
Since it is more easily measured from the meteorological point of
view through pilot-balloon observations than in the ocean, it may be
possible for students of aerodynamics to secure for oceanographers
actual values of the force exerted at the sea surface by the wind.
The second problem, concerning the steadiness of ocean currents,
is perhaps too technical to discuss here since it involves the usefulness
of Bjerknes’s equations. His theory for calculating the velocity of
currents by the slope of the surfaces of equal density demands that
the circulation has assumed a steady character. There is some rea-
son to believe that ocean currents are usually either slowing up or
increasing their velocity and often break down altogether. The im-
mediate question before physical oceanographers is how far it is
advisable to use for dynamic calculations stations from different ex-
peditions or even from the same expedition, but made over a period
of a month or more. It may be that in certain regions the ocean
circulation is disturbed by eddies corresponding to the extra-tropical
cyclones of meteorology, in which case nothing but simultaneous sta-
tions will give a true picture of the circulation. In the case of the
northern areas of the Atlantic, the third problem is immediately
brought up. Are the seasonal temperature changes in the surface
layers powerful enough to alter the underlying dynamic forces?
There are many more perplexing questions having to do with
circulation which are still unsettled, but the above is perhaps sufh-
cient to show that the understanding of oceanic circulation is still
in a very elementary stage in spite of what one might think from
examining the very considerable literature on the subject, unfor-
tunately mainly based on insufficient data. In other words, the
262 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
great need at present is for observations especially planned to bring
out particular points rather than for stations scattered over wide
areas. The crying need is for proof.
Now it may seem to the reader that oceanic circulation is a rela-
tively unimportant scientific problem. It is true that for the pur-
poses of navigation we now have sufficient knowledge of the main
currents and that for such services as the ice patrol the existing
methods give good results as applied to small areas. The reason
why we have here stressed circulation is that almost every prob-
lem in deep-sea oceanography is somehow linked to it. The marine
biologist can not adequately account for the distribution of lfe in
the sea without a good knowledge of the water movements. The
quantity of life in the sea is also linked to the current system since
it depends on the supply of certain chemicals in the water. These
essential chemicals are found in greatest abundance near the shore
because they are brought to the sea by the rivers. When in a given
area they are used up more quickly than the currents can carry them
out from the shore, the population will die out. The sea is the origi-
nal home of life as we know it on earth. For countless ages the
evolution of marine forms must have been greatly influenced by
the supply of these vital chemicals. If it were not for the circula-
tion of the oceans, no matter how slow, large areas of it would be
completely barren. The important part which the ocean currents
are now playing (and have played in the past) in the climate of
the world is more generally appreciated.
Anyone who has had experience in research work knows only too
well how one thing leads to another. An investigator no sooner
gets started on a problem than he finds that he can not progress until
he has settled another problem, which only develops after he has
begun work on the first. In oceanography the difficulty is increased
by the fact that such vast distances have to be covered and it is usu-
ally impossible to repeat the work. It almost seems that it requires
the experience of a preliminary cruise to know how to attack any
given problem. For this reason anyone planning a program for
scientific work at sea would do well not to attempt too much on one
cruise. There is little hope of finding an important problem that
can be settled by one expedition. Often it is the development of a
technique for handling new apparatus which is the main result of an
elaborately planned cruise. There is a vast supply of oceanographic
problems, but little is known about methods for settling them.
With the formation of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institu-
tion and the building of the Atlantis those interested realized only
too well the difficulties of laying out a program. No longer was it
a question of planning for an isolated expedition which must yield
OCEANOGRAPHY—ISELIN 263
a maximum of results in a given length of time. Rather, some pol-
icy had to be adopted which would tie together the very scattered
information already in existence and at the same time prepare for
future work that was bound to progress slowly.
The accompanying diagram shows the sections run by the At-
lantis during the first 10 months of her existence. These sections
80"! 70" ee 50° 40° seem)
(ja SS Sy ee ee aot |
i |
J
450")
ATLANTIS SECTIONS
qa S ; 7 |
JULY 1931 — MAY 1932 és hae é i |
a iy paren >
BOSTON Sy ;
NEW YORK] <4 74 y
| PHILADELPHIA| | oo a
| BALTIMORE f t > }
bated |
S AZORES sol
\ SINC. HENRY H |
C. HATTERAS
a SS
C.VERDE
1s.
Ficurn 1.—Atlantis sections, July, 1931—May, 1932
consist of about 250 stations along lines totaling almost 10,700
miles in length. About two-thirds of the stations lie in deep water.
Observations have been made always to 3,000 meters, when the
depths of the water allowed, and at frequent intervals to the bottom.
The physical program of the institution centers around the two
sections out to Bermuda. It is hoped that it will be possible to
264 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
repeat these sections quarterly. They should provide information
concerning fluctuations in velocity and in volume of the Gulf
Stream. They should show whether or not its path varies with the
season and from year to year. Since on these sections the stations
have been spaced at from 15 to 25 mile intervals, they should give
reliable data on the internal arrangement of the water layers in
what is perhaps a purely convectional current. The cruise from
Nova Scotia to Bermuda and back to Chesapeake Bay can usually
be made in under two weeks, so that the sections come very close
to satisfying the ideal of giving an instantaneous picture.
Although this work is perhaps mainly of interest because it will
supply detailed information on the Gulf Stream, the greater part
of the sections lie in the relatively motionless mass of the central
North Atlantic water. In this region between the Gulf Stream and
Bermuda the stations will be most helpful in the study of such
questions as internal boundary waves, the mixing action of storm
waves, and other questions important over the whole ocean rather
than applying to currents. Between the Gulf Stream and the edge
of the continental shelf there is also another interesting band of
water which is relatively cold at all depths when compared to the
water just to the south and eastward. Yet it is not at all certain
that this strip of water, which can be thought of as keeping the
Gulf Stream away from northern Atlantic coasts, has a northern
origin.
Besides these Bermuda sections the Atlantis has run two long
north and south profiles in mid-Atlantic. The more northerly line
of stations follows longitude 30° W. and crosses the North Atlantic
Drift, as the continuation of the Gulf Stream is sometimes called.
Before this section was run (July, 1931) there was evidence that the
Gulf Stream split into at least three branches after leaving the
region of the Grand Banks and that the prevailing westerly winds
in this part of the ocean played an important part in the easterly
movement of the surface waters. The Atlantis section of closely
spaced stations should furnish important data concerning the water
movements in this part of the ocean and at the same time definitely
establish the branching nature of the continuation of the Gulf
Stream.
The southern of these two profiles (February, 1932) follows lon-
gitude 42° W. and extends from the horse latitudes to the Equator.
It therefore crosses the northern equatorial, or trade-wind, current.
In theory, this section should show up the nature of a pure wind
current besides giving the volume and velocity of the westerly drift
across the southern part of the North Atlantic. It was hoped that
the arrangement of the water layers in this type of current would
OCEANOGRAPH Y—ISELIN 265
be strikingly different from those of the convectional current, so
that it would be possible to decide roughly in other profiles how
much of the movement was due to wind and how much to convec-
tional forces. A preliminary examination of the observations has
indicated that this was perhaps too much to hope for, yet the section
will be most important when the time comes to establish in detail
the water movements of the North Atlantic.
In the course of running these important sections, opportunity
was found for examining several more special regions. In the first
place, a section was made off the Amazon River (March, 1932)
showing the transition from oceanic conditions to those of fresh
water. This section will be mainly of interest from the chemical
point of view. In the second place, a good section from the West
Indies out to Bermuda was made (April, 1932) to show up the
nature of the Antilles current. This is the current which is sup-
posed to carry southern water northward outside the islands and
to join with the Gulf Stream near the Straits of Florida. Finally
several short sections have been run across the coastal waters between
Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras, on the eastern seaboard of the United
States. This work was in connection with a study of the coastal
conditions throughout the year begun by the United States Bureau
of Fisheries.
So much for the routine temperature and salinity observations
made in deep water during the first year of the Woods Hole Oceano-
graphic Institution. It must be remembered that in the course of
collecting this huge number of water samples, the opportunity was
not lost to examine them for oxygen content, P,, P.O;, and PO.
Therefore, the work has a most important chemical aspect besides
giving data for the study of ocean currents.
In the field of marine meteorology, the work carried out on board
the Atlantis has been mainly on two problems. Considerable data
have accumulated that are being used to show more accurately the
relationship between the rate of evaporation at the sea surface and
the wind velocity, as well as its dependence on the stability of the
lower layer of the atmosphere. About 100 pilot-balloon ascents
have been observed with a theodolite over a large area of the Atlantic
with a view of finding the frictional force exerted by the wind on
the ocean surface. As is usually the case with scientific work at
sea, it has taken considerable time to develop a satisfactory technique
in making these observations.
From the geologic standpoint, the Atlantis has only done a small
amount of work during the past year. An investigation of the prob-
lem of the formation of the continental shelf off the Atlantic coast
States has been in progress in the laboratory at Woods Hole. Most
266 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
of the bottom samples have been collected by the Asterias, a 40-foot
power boat also operated by the institution. But during April,
1932, two lines of stations were run by the Ad/antzs off the New Jersey
coast with samples taken every 2 miles from the beach to the 1,000-
fathom curve. By studying the distribution of the various sized
particles composing the mud, it is hoped that something will be
learned about the depth of wave action and the geologic history of
the formation of the continental shelf.
The physical program of the Atlantis has not been so extensive
that some valuable biological investigations could not be carried out
at the same time. During much of the year it has been the custom
to make a tow for eel larvae every second evening when the vessel
was cruising in suitable regions. These tows were made to collect
eel larvae for the Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen. Through
a study of the distribution and sizes of the young eels, their migra-
tion route from the spawning region south and east of Bermuda has
been mapped out, and since their long journey back to Europe is
much dependent on the currents, the eel tows are valuable to physical
oceanographers because the eels make excellent drift-bottles. At the
same time, a general collection of oceanic plankton has been carried
out for the laboratory at Bermuda, which will eventually show
more clearly the distribution of the various small floating animals
found near the surface in the central North Atlantic.
The Atlantis’s heavy winch with its 5 miles of cable was intended
mainly for handling large deep-sea nets and dredges. Her cruises
to date have not included any program of bottom dredging, but
enough deep-sea tows have been made to test the machinery thor-
oughly. These tows have advanced the technique of handling large
nets, besides being instructive in the problem of bringing up deep-
sea fish in good condition. There is even reason to expect that in
regions where the surface waters are not too warm, deep-sea animals
can be brought to the surface alive, if proper precautions are taken.
The cod end of the nets must be lined with some soft material so
that the fish will not have their skin chafed off by the rush of water
through coarse netting and the hauling speeds must be so regulated
that the animals have time to “ decompress ” on the way to the sur-
face. The difficulty is that fish living normally in waters having
a temperature of 4° C. will be killed by being brought through the
surface layers which are usually very much warmer. It would seem
that in winter, if tows were made in the northern seas, this difficulty
might be eliminated and the fish brought back alive.
The question of the penetration of light below the sea surface
and its effect on the animal life in the upper layers of the ocean
has recently received considerable impetus through the development
OCEANOGRAPHY—ISELIN 267
of a reliable photometric apparatus at the Plymouth Laboratory.
Similar apparatus was made for use on the At/antis and during the
summer of 1931 this was tried out on her crossing from Plymouth
to Boston. At 13 stations careful measurements were made of the
amount of light at all depths down to the limit imposed by the
sensitivity of the photoelectric cells used. At the same time, through
the use of a series of five closing nets, a picture of the vertical migra-
tion of the plankton was obtained which could be nicely correlated
with the amount of light reaching the organisms throughout the day.
Thus the phototropic effect can be studied at sea in much the same
manner as in a physiological laboratory.
Such is a summary of the various investigations carried out from
the Atlantis since her launching in June, 1931. This by no means
represents all of the work of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti-
tution. A large number of marine problems have been attacked at
the laboratory, and many observations have been collected by the
Asterias, but it has been thought best to limit this account to the
work done in deep water because so little is known of the problems
of deep-sea oceanography.
qi
} 7’ ’ { I Ae TN Vay ts
\ a q
Pa
a}
Ret
vl
, i
’
)
om I
ot
Hi
oe)
o a
‘ ry i)
rye i
| “
i
f
\
i
’
iv ‘ 1
i) eee if
By
i
. ny
ean ;
: y . 7
oF | AS hoa
Oe a i
RETR ee uate
ATIOH SGOOM LY AYOLVYOSV]
L 3LV1d uljasy—"7¢6| “cday ueruosyzIWIG
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Iselin PLATE 2
THE ‘“‘ATLANTIS”’
A scientific research ship operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Iselin PLATE 3
1. WATER BOTTLES BEING ATTACHED TO THE WIRE
2. WATER SAMPLES BEING DRAWN FROM THE WATER BOTTLES IN THE
DECK LABORATORY ABOARD THE ‘“‘ATLANTIS"’
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Iselin PLATE 4
1. PLANKTON NET BEING HOISTED ABOARD AND
WASHED DOWN BY A HOSE
2. SHOWING CURRENT METER FASTENED IN THE MOUTH OF A NET TO
MEASURE THE VOLUME OF WATER PASSING THROUGH IT DURING A
TOW
SAFETY DEVICES IN WINGS OF BIRDS’
By Lieut. Commander R. R. GraHam, R. N.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED
Arr Srream.—The flow of air felt by a bird or any part of a bird owing to its
motion through the air.
Atr-STREAM GRADIENT.—The upward or downward slope of the air stream felt
by a point on the wing of a bird in flapping flight, the angle of slope
depending upon the proportion of vertical speed at that point to horizontal
speed of flight.
Aspect Ratio.—The proportion of length to breadth of a wing. Obtained in
figures by dividing the length by the mean breadth.
BARBICELS.—Of a feather; the miscroscopic branches that spring from some of
the barbules. Some are simple spines, others are hooked.
Bares (or Rami).—Of a feather; the branches that spring at an angle from
the shaft, and, in mass, form the webs.
BARBULES (or Rapim).—Of a feather; the minute branches that spring from
the barbs. Some are branched, others not.
BiapE.—Of a wing or feather; the whole surface; i. e., of a feather, the two
webs considered together.
CamMBer.—The curve of a wing between the leading and trailing edges.
Corp.—Of a wing or feather; the distance between the front and rear edges
when in flying position.
Covert FrEATHERS.—The small feathers of a wing which cover up the gaps
between the shafts of the flight feathers near their roots where they are
devoid of barbs.
Cutting Epcre.—Of a feather; a stiff, narrow form of front web, designed to cut
the air; that is, to act without the support of another feather in front.
Found along the whole front web of the first flight feather in all birds; but
in other feathers only where their front webs are emarginated.
EMARGINATION.—Of a feather; the stepping down in width toward the tip,
either of one or both webs. Only found in certain primary feathers of
certain types of birds.
FuicHt FratHers.—The principal feathers of a wing; i. e., the visible primaries
and the secondaries.
INCIDENCE.—The angle between the blade of a wing or feather and the line
of the air stream which it encounters at any moment. This angle deter-
mines the depth of the furrow a wing cuts in the air.
LEADING Epce.—The front margin of a wing or feather in flying position.
Primary FEATHERS.—The main feathers that spring from the hand of a bird’s
wing. In some birds the first primary is so small that normally it can not
be seen. The second primary is then considered as being the first flight
feather.
1 Reprinted by permission from British Birds, vol. 24, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 1930, and the Jour-
nal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, vol. 86, No. 253, January, 1932.
269
270 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
SECONDARY F'EATHERS.—The main feathers that spring from the forearm of a
bird’s wing.
SHaArr.—The horny quill which extends from root to tip of a feather.
Stors.—Are of two kinds, the wing-tip slot and the wrist slot.
Span.—Of a bird; the distance between the fully extended wing tips when the
wings are at full stretch.
STALLING.—The process which occurs when an unduly large angle of incidence
is used. It causes a sudden loss of lift and increase of head resistance.
TRAILING EpGe.—The rear margin of a wing or feather in flying position.
Wes.—Of a feather; one of the halves into which the shaft divides the blade.
Wine Loapina.—The weight carried per unit of wing area with the wings fully
extended.
I, SEPARATING WING-TIP FEATHERS
A noticeable peculiarity in the flight of a certain number of birds
is the way their wing-tip feathers separate, both in flapping and in
gliding flight. So wide do the gaps between the feathers become at
times that the outer parts of the wings take on the appearance of
hands with their fingers spread out. One’s first thought about the
matter is that there is probably nothing in it; that the feathers sep-
arate simply because they are feathers, and, as such, can not help
themselves; but, on investigation, this turns out to be one of the
most interesting of the many aspects of the flight of birds—interest-
ing not only because it brings to light the infinite care and cunning
that have been bestowed on the construction of their wings but also
because it demonstrates the possibility of applying some of the lessons
that birds can teach us to the design of flying machines, gliders in
particular. When considering such questions we should always
humbly remember that birds are the outcome of the law of the sur-
vival of the fittest through countless ages of flying, while we have
been at it only for about 30 years.
It is fairly easy to explain why the wing-tip feathers separate, but
the question of the purpose they may serve in doing so is more of a
puzzle. As there appear to be several possible and plausible answers
to it, I propose to put them down and leave those who are interested
in the subject to judge how many, if any, of them are worth consid-
ering. Personally I believe that this separation serves different pur-
poses in different types of birds and in different phases of flight and
that 1t sometimes serves more than one purpose at a time.
The fact that the wing-tip feathers of some birds separate widely
in flight, while those of others do not appear to do so at all, seems to
be about the best clue to follow up. Among the smaller species, such
as finches, warblers, tits, swallows, and thrushes, the peculiarity in
question is not noticeable to any marked degree; the wings of these
birds vary both in general shape and in the pointedness of the tips.
It is only in a certain number of the medium and large sized birds
that separation is really distinct. Of these, ravens, rooks, eagles,
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 271
swans, and game birds (pheasants, partridges, and allied species) are
some of the more familiar. Without exception they have compara-
tively square or rounded wing tips, though the wings themselves
are of various shapes.
Let us consider a group of birds of corresponding size whose
feathers do not appear to separate much, if at all, such as the wood-
cock, snipe, duck, pigeons, cuckoos, gulls, and nearly all the sea birds.
One could almost be sure that, except for their very tips, the feathers
of some of these birds always remain packed together. In this
group the wing tips are distinctly pointed, though, again, the shape
of the wings varies considerably.
Ficurn 1.—A golden eagle about to alight. Only the tip of the wing is shaded to
emphasize the incidence of the separated feathers. (From a photograph by
Arthur Brook.)
As a preliminary basis to work on we might therefore suggest that
separation of the flight feathers is more likely to be met with in big
than in small birds and in birds that have squarish or rounded wing
tips than in those that have pointed ones.
In view of the wide divergence between the speed of flapping of
game birds and of other types that have separating feathers it
would appear that the speed at which the wings are flapped has no
direct bearing on the matter.
Il. THE THEORY OF FLIGHT
Before going into the matter in detail, it is, perhaps, advisable
to describe briefly the manner in which a wing derives power or
“lift” from the air. First and foremost, it should be borne in mind
that, just as a swimmer obtains forward motion by pushing water
backward, so does a bird counteract gravity by causing air to move
272 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
downward. Secondly, it should be remembered that a bird seldom,
if ever, beats the air downward, even in flapping flight. Instead,
he makes his wings slice through the air and deflects it downwards,
thereby obtaining an upward reaction.
Really, a wing acts on air in much the same way as a plough
deals with earth; a curious simile perhaps, but true in so far as it
cuts a furrow and piles up the displaced material on one side—of a
wing, the under side.
The air which is displaced beneath a wing accounts for approxi-
mately one-third of the total force derived. The remaining two-
thirds are generated on the top of the wing in a way that is not
quite as simple. Taking again the simile of the plough: the furrow
it cuts is, practically speaking, filled with air as soon as it is made;
but the furrow cut by a bird’s wing is made at such a speed that the
air is unable to fill it immediately. There is nothing else to do the
job, because the only other possible object, the wing itself, is being
prevented from moving upward by the muscles that control it. So
the furrow remains as a partial vacuum (for the air does manage
partly to fill it) and follows the wing wherever it goes, so long as the
speed and the angle of incidence are suitable. If the air were suf-
ficiently fluid to fill the furrow immediately it formed, there would
be no suction remaining to exert an upward force on the wing, so
it is really the slowness of the air in moving down that is responsible
for the force derived on the top of a wing.
The combined force, one-third from below and two-thirds above,
is known as the total resultant force. It has been found to act at
about 90° to the surface of the blade of a normal wing; therefore,
by setting his wing at any particular angle, a bird can make it pro-
duce a reaction in whatever direction he requires, provided always
that the air speed and the incidence are suitable. It is by holding
the wing against this combined reaction of the air that a bird can
defy gravity and, by suitable inclination of the surface, obtain
forward movement.
Figure 2 shows roughly the lines which the two streams of air
follow as they pass the wing. Where the lines are close together
the air is under pressure, and where they open out there is tension
between the air and the wing ?; in other words, the pressure is less
than that of the atmosphere. Observe that the flow of the upper
stream is quite smooth, and that it flows at high speed close over
the trailing edge of the wing.
When a bird wishes to glide more slowly, he must make his wings
cut a deeper furrow in order to make up in quantity of air displaced
* Though it is technically inaccurate to consider the air pressures in this way, it is the
simplest means of getting a clear view of what happens.
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS-—GRAHAM 273
for the reduced downward velocity his wings are giving to it.
This he does by increasing their incidence. That is all very well,
and it works beautifully, but only up to a certain limiting angle,
which, unless it is increased by some special means, is in the region
of 15°. (These special means take the form of certain peculiar ar-
rangements of the feathers akin to the Handley-Page slotted-wing
device. They are of particular interest because they vary very much
in different species of birds, and are therefore of great help to
—> direction of flight
ee LE ee eT
— tr
Slream
Figurn 2.—The flow of the air-stream past a wing seen end
on, in normal flight
anyone trying to arrive at an understanding of the differences in
their flight.)
As the limiting angle of incidence is approached, the upper of
the two air streams, being deflected more and more sharply down-
wards in its effort to fill in the furrow cut by a wing, finds increasing
difficulty in turning the corner, until finally, and quite suddenly, it
gives up the struggle and instead, just rushes on for a short distance
and then turns, and, as it were, follows the wing. Thus the smooth
-Slream
ss ior erie of Movement
FIGURE 2a.—The flow of air past a wing seen end on, in
“stalled” flight
flow of air over the top of the wing is broken down and the air-
stream begins to form into little whirls, a process known as “ bur-
bling.” ‘The burbling is accentuated by the lower air stream, which,
being no longer kept in place by the even flow of the upper stream
over the trailing edge of the wing, is able to flow up and join in filling
up the partial vacuum. (One can get a very good idea of what bur-
bling is, by dragging one’s hand at an angle through water.) Figure
2a shows more or less what would be seen if the air stream were visible.
3Speed is of the greatest importance, for by halving the speed a bird reduces the
value of the force his wings are producing to one-quarter, unless he increases the inci-
dence. In the same way he can quadruple the amount of force by doubling the air speed.
The law in accordance with which this happens is that at such speeds as birds attain the
value of the total resultant force varies as the square of the air speed.
274 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The important thing to note is that though the air stream is still
being slow in filling the furrow cut by the wing, it is now being
slow in moving forwards and upwards, and the pull of the air on
the wing is in the reverse direction—backwards and downwards. So
now, a large part of the force of air reaction is in a backward and
downward direction, instead of being at 90° to the wing surface;
just what is not wanted asa rule. This state of affairs is known as
a “stall,” and it always comes into existence when an unduly large
angle of incidence is used, either in gliding or flapping flight.
An airplane whose wings are stalled commences to fall, owing to
the lack of “lift,” and then to spin, on account of certain little-
known aerodynamic laws. But, in some of the more modern types,
this stalled descent can be controlled in such a way that, instead of
spinning, the machine descends on an even keel. This is precisely
what some species of birds can do by virtue of their separating
feathers, as I hope to show in this article. Without this separation
of the feathers they could not do it.
Ill. EMARGINATION
That nature had a definite purpose in view when she provided some
birds and not others with separating flight feathers becomes appar-
Figurr 3.—Above, 3rd flight feather of a buzzard; below, of a
golden plover
ent if the shape of such feathers is compared with that of corre-
sponding ones taken from a wing in which separation does not take
place. Figure 3 illustrates this comparison. Observe how the buz-
zard’s feather (a separating one) is reduced in width from a broad
base to a much narrower tip, not gradually, but in a distinct step;
whereas the golden plover’s (a nonseparating one) only narrows
down gently the whole way. The feathers illustrated are taken from
similar positions in the wing.
This stepping down in width, known to ornithologists as “ emar-
gination,” is always present in the feathers of birds that have
separating flight feathers, sometimes on both webs of the feathers,
sometimes only on the front webs, while in certain feathers in any
particular wing it is confined to the rear edges. The terms “ front ”
and “rear” are used here, rather than the usual “outer” and
“inner,” because we are considering the wing in its working position,
fully spread,
66
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 275
The emargination obeys certain definite rules. The front web of
the first flight feather, the first visible primary, is never emarginated ;
where any marked separation takes place, the rear web is. Then,
in some wings the front web of the second feather is the only other
emarginated one, but in others varying numbers of feathers have
steps in both webs—five appears to be the greatest number—while in
all cases the hindmost feather that has a step has it only in the front
web. The result of this arrangement is that when the wing is fully
spread the outer parts of the feathers do not overlap and gaps or
“ slots ” form between them as shown in Figure 4.*
For some reason, in the wings of certain species of birds nature
has taken particular care that these slots shall be of fair width, even
at their inner extremities, where they might reasonably be expected
to form very acute angles, owing to the fact that the feathers radiate
from a fairly small center, the hand of the wing. She has achieved
nN
i
es
KI Ww
FicurE 4.—Right wing-tip of a buzzard seen from below.
The front webs of the feathers are drawn black for
emphasis
this result by making the webs of the feathers narrower just outside
the steps than they are farther out toward the wing tips. The
effect is that the margins of the slots are more nearly parallel than
they would otherwise be and the inner extremities squarer (fig. 5).
Though not found in quite all emarginated feathers, this re-
markably careful shaping is often to be seen in the feathers of birds
with well-developed slots. Its purpose has perhaps something to
do with the “ drag” that would be induced by air rushing at high
speed through a narrow space, with silence in flight, or with the
need for a good flow of air throughout the whole length of a slot
in order that the full benefit may be derived from it. The slots in
the wings of pigeons are good examples of the type that lacks this
careful shaping, and these birds are noticeably more noisy in flight
than many others. (For comparison see fig. 36.) It also looks as if
“In some birds the emargination of the rear webs is very indistinct, particularly in the
feathers that form the hindmost slots. The pheasant’s wing is a good example.
149571—33——_19
276 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
this careful shaping is designed to prevent wear on the edges of the
feathers, for it must cause the whole slot to open at almost the same
moment, instead of the separation starting at the tip and working
inward, with consequent chafing.
IV. BENDING AND TWISTING OF SEPARATED FEATHERS
Figures 6 and 7 show examples of separation. These birds may
either be making a downward beat or just gliding, the camera does
not tell us for certain, but for the present purpose that does not mat-
Under-surface of right
wing-tip of a Ruddy
Sheld-Duck.
2nd flight-
feather of a
Partridge.
FIGURE 5.—Typical examples of emargination being
greater near the step than at the wing-tip. Both
feathers narrower at A than at B
ter. All that is required is to know that the air stream is striking
the wings from below. That it is doing so is quite evident.
In both birds the separated feathers are distinctly bent in an
upward and forward direction, and at the same time twisted in such
a way that their leading edges lie lower than their rear or trailing
edges. Jirst consider the twisting alone. Since no feather has
muscular power in itself, this effect must be due to the reaction of
the air which the feathers are displacing. The wing itself is held
or moved by its owner in such a way that the air stream is striking
it at an angle from below and in front, the angle of incidence.
The roots and the overlapping parts of the feathers are embodied
in and supported by this main part of the wing, but the separated
outer portions lack mutual support and are to a certain extent at
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 216
the mercy of the rush of air which they feel, the air stream. Hav-
ing wider webs behind than in front of their shafts, the feather
blades can not help twisting somewhat into line with the upward-
slanting stream, because it has more effect on the broad than on the
narrow webs. Thus the angle at which the separated blades of
the feathers lie to the line of the air stream becomes less than that
at which the main wing lies. This is a matter of decided advantage
to a bird, because it means that he can afford to put his wings at
such a large angle of incidence that, though they may stall and be-
come comparatively ineffective, he will yet be safe, because their
w
es
Figurn 6.—A marsh-harrier descending. (From a photograph.)
{
Te recommen til
kicgurp 7.—The right wing of a crane seen from
below. (From a photograph lent by Col. R.
Meinertzhagen.)
very important outer parts (important because they are most favor-
ably situated for controlling) will automatically remain effective
and in an unstalled condition. Further, they will remain so even if
he increase the incidence of the main wing to several degrees beyond
the stalling angle.
That the separated feathers should bend upward is only natural
since the airstream is striking them at an angle from below, but that
they should also bend forward seems a trifle odd. The explanation
is that they are yielding to the reaction of the displaced air, which
acts, according to the accepted theory of flight, in a direction approx-
imately at right angles to the surface of their blades; and after they
have been twisted, that direction, as can be seen in Figure 8, must
be upward and forward relative to the parent wing. While the slots
978 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
are opening, each whole feather, pivoting about its root in the hand
of the wing, is dragged forward by the force reacting on its twisted
{ip. When the limit of that movement has been reached, the flexible
separated tips bend forward, still in cbedience to the reaction on the
twisted parts of the blades. The bending of separating primaries
F R 2a A
La
~
A
Ficure 8.—Diagram illustrating the reason for the upward and
forward bending of separated feathers
A, direction of air stream; F, direction of movement of the
wing; R, total resultant force on the main wing; r, total result-
ant force on each separated feather-blade.
adds greatly to the smoothness of the flight of short-winged birds.
The reaction in each wing beat is, as it were, cushioned. Instead of
commencing and ending sharply, it gradually rises to a maximum,
and gradually dies away as the feathers straighten themselves after
the termination of the down beat.
V. THE SINGLE WING-TIP SLOT
A good example of the simplest development of the slot is found in
the wings of some forms of duck, the teal (Anas crecca) for instance.
Figure 9 shows the first four flight feathers of a teal’s wing. Num-
ber one feather’s front web is very
narrow and very stiff from tip to
root; a suitable form for taking
the first blow of the air as the
wing cuts through it, and for
dividing the stream ready for its
passage over and under the wing
surface that lies in rear of it. The front web of number two feather
is of identical construction, but only for a distance of 184 inches (AB
in the figure), measured inwards from the tip; that is, as far as the
step in the web. Inside that point it resembles the front webs of all
the other primary feathers that lie behind it in being comparatively
Fieurms 9.—Under-surface of right wing-
tip of teal
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 979
broad and flexible, and only suited for working at an angle to the air
stream with the shield and support of another feather in front of it.
This indicates that the outer part of number two’s front web is a
“ cutting edge,” and that it serves a similar purpose to the whole of
the front web of number one; which, in fact, it does, for when the
slot is open it is left isolated through the bending up of number one,
to face the air stream on its own. (Fig. 10.) Number two
feather, itself, does not get bent or twisted, because its rear web is
supported above and behind by the front web of number three, there
being no slot between these two. And the same thing stands for all
the other feathers in the wing; they give each other mutual support,
which prevents any part of them from being twisted round by the
force of the air stream.
The teal’s cutting edge is typical of the cutting edge of all birds,
though there is considerable variation in proportionate width in dif-
ferent species. There are other interesting variations, too: In most
game-birds and duck, for instance, the cutting edges appear to have
rr Oe ae
Ficgurb 10.—Duck making a down-beat. The separated tip of the first
flight-feather has bent upwards and forwards. (From a chronophoto-
graph in Marey’s Movement. Owing to the peculiar form of photogra-
phy, the series must be read from right to left.)
a biconvex section, such as that used in the modern high-speed aero-
plane wing, and are about twice as thick in section as the rear webs
directly behind them. Where they are so thickened the under-sur-
faces of the feathers have an unmistakable silvery appearance. Then
there is the wing of the short-eared owl (Asio flammeus), in which
the one short piece of cutting edge is easily distinguished from all the
other leading edges by its comb-like appearance; no doubt this is
something to do with the general “ mufiling” of the typical owl’s
wing. In the wing of a griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) the cutting
edges are much more curved down than those of many other birds.
This, one suspects, may have something to do with the high lft
value required by that bird when soaring at low air-speeds. In fact,
cutting edges make a very interesting study in themselves alone, and
I have mentioned only a few of their peculiarities.
When the single slot in the teal’s wing is open, and the isolated
tip of the first feather has been bent and twisted by the air stream, a
section taken through the wing at the midpoint of the slot would
look something like Figure 11. The resemblance of this to a slotted
airplane wing (fig. 12) is quite evident.
280 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Quoting from the Handley-Page handbook on the subject:
The slot in the wing, extending along the leading edge and formed between
a small movable winglet and the main wing itself, prevents a breakdown in
the airflow over the plane at large angles of incidence, and so permits the wing
to continue lifting at angles at which stalling would previously have taken
place. The stream of air introduced at high speed through the slot from the
under surface has the effect of smooth-
ee Alon _-=lL2ZU~ ing out the flow of air over the plane,
SS aig) Sear and keeping it in contact with the up-
per surface, delaying the incidence of
the breakdown of the airflow to angles
so large as never to be encountered in
actual flight.
Figure 11.—Probable flow of the air- = E 2
Stream through a single wing-tip slot In other wor ds, it ap Reais that
A, section of the tip of the first flight- the separated part of the first flight
feather; B, of the main wing directly in feather of the teal gives the alr
rear of it. nee
stream a preliminary downward
nudge, so that when it arrives at the downward curve on the top of
the main wing it is able to cope with the change of direction, and
flow down over it smoothly, without burbling and causing a stall.
If this really is the case, we can presume that the part of the wing
which is situated behind the slot in the teal’s wing, does not stall
immediately the incidence becomes so high
Ve) esurea Ponsa Aaa as to cause the rest of the wing to do so, and
tw) Svavcep pyr
Cowracn nee
Ficure 13.—The appearance of a
Handley-Page slot in the open
position
FigurRE 12.—Diagram illus-
trating the action of the : , i : tse
Handley-Page slot. (From that it maintains the value of the lift it is
the “handbook “issued ‘by giving, while the’ main ‘part of the wing
that firm.) z A :
is producing “ drag ” rather than lift.
This excellent property of the wing tips, given to them by the
slots, can be of use to a teal in several ways. Here is an example.
Think of him as he glides down to alight on a flat-calm day, when
there is no wind which he can use (by facing it) to reduce his speed
sufficiently to let him touch the water without capsizing. His wings
have got to produce the “ braking effect” required and yet main-
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 281
tain their “lift,”® and they are not of the most suitable type for
the work, because the teal has far higher wing loading (smaller
wings for his weight) than most birds.
The production of a big braking effect requires a strong back-
ward-inclined reaction from the air; that means a large angle of
incidence (fig. 14), almost certainly larger than the stalling angle of
the wings. In these circumstances, even if they do stall, it does not
matter much as regards “ braking,” for though the total resultant
produced may fall in value, it will be all in the right direction—
backwards, But it does matter from the point of view of “ control,”
and that is where the slots come in. They insure that part, at
least, of the wing, and that the most important part for controlling,
will not stall. So this preliminary glide down toward the water
appears to develop into a stalled, yet controlled descent, with the
body in a horizontal position, or even slightly tilted up in front,
nes KR.
\“ \
Seca iL cls tad kk sfream
PN sr echo of flght —>
Ficurp 14.—Diagram showing how braking effect increases with the
angle of incidence. Force R2 points more backward than R1 because
angle alpha is greater than beta
not inclined downwards as in a true glide or dive. One can often
see commoner birds, notably rooks (Corvus frugilegus), carrying
out the same maneuver.
Having, in this way, reduced his speed somewhat, the teal finds
that the controlled stalled descent is going to bring him on to the
water with too much downward speed for comfort. To overcome
this trouble he starts flapping his wings, at first with very small
strokes, little more than a quivering of the wing tips, then gradually
increasing the movement until it is almost as vigorous as when he is
getting under way at the beginning of a flight. The true reason
for the need to start flapping is that he has_ reduced
the speed of the air past his wings so much that they are un-
able to derive from it the necessary force to obtain braking effect
and “ lift,” and that therefore the wings themselves must be moved
to increase the lift. ‘The movement which has to be made up for is a
forward one, so the wings must be moved forward; that means a
forward and backward flap, which is the form of flapping flight
often used by birds when alighting on windless days.
5 Probably the spreading of the webbed feet, ready to continue the “ braking” in the
water, assists the wings slightly in this.
282 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Actually the beat is not horizontal, but it is not far from it. It
is an approach toward hovering flight, and, as can be seen in Fig-
ure 15, hovering birds do use this nearly horizontal beat, at any rate
in calm weather. The body is tilted up at an angle which brings it
into nearly the same position with relation to the beating wings as
in normal flapping flight, thus doing away with the need for special
eo
1S
as ae
Figure 15.—Humming birds hovering. (From photographs.)
joints and muscles. This typical attitude, assumed by all forms of
ducks (and indeed most other birds) when alighting in calm
weather, will be recalled by Figure 16. Incidentally this attitude
must in itself cause a certain increase in the braking effect caused
by the passage of the body at an angle through the air, and must
also reduce the tendency to capsize on touching the water.
WE,
wv
avaction of flighl
pace eh
ae
2
Te le
Ficgurp 16.—Left, typical attitude of a duck while alighting.
Right, diagram illustrating the action of a duck’s wing in the
down or forward beat while alighting. The section of wing
shown is near the body. Farther out toward the wing-tip, the
air-stream would twist the wing so that the angle of incidence
would be smaller
The slot comes in very handy in this proceeding, too. Imagine a
point on the teal’s wing traveling, during the forward stroke, from
A to B (fig. 16) and producing a force from the reaction of the
air, roughly, in the required direction R. To do so, the surface of
the wing must lie at right angles to that direction, that is, in posi-
tion CD. The air stream felt by the wing during the stroke is,
practically speaking, in the reverse direction to the stroke, i. e., from
B to A (because the bodily forward movement of the bird is now
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 983
so low as to have but little effect upon it). That means a large
angle of incidence and the need for the slot once more to prevent
the stalling of the wing tips.
It is worth noting here that the wind tips are doing nearly all
the work, because the inner parts, being close to the body, can not be
flapped through an arc large enough to produce the air speed which
is essential for the production of force from the air; therefore, it
is doubly important that the best should be got out of the tips. The
slot allows this to be done by permitting the use of a large angle of
incidence.
VI. OPENING AND CLOSING OF WING-TIP SLOTS
The study of how wing-tip slots are opened and closed is most
interesting, because it discloses the presence in a bird’s wing of one
of the most cunning, economical, and amaz-
ingly effective devices imaginable.
A bird at rest can spread its wings sufficiently
for the slots to open fully; one can see the great
birds of prey at the zoo doing it almost any
day. That is evidence that birds certainly are
provided with the necessary muscular equip-
ment for the movement, but it does not follow
that they use it for that purpose in flight. Here
is evidence that they do not. If one takes the
wing of a freshly-killed rook, for example,
Ficurn 17.—Lower sur-
spreading it so that the feather tips are just not
separating, and holding it at a large angle of
incidence (in the nature of 25°) to the draught
from a powerful electric fan, the air stream
will open the slots by blowing up the broader
rear webs of the emarginated parts of the
face of a song-thrush’s
right wing-tip, with
the slots more than
fully opened. Gaps
appearing beyond the
inner limits of the
slots and barbs being
torn apart from each
- 52 . other are shown
feathers. If, on the other hand, this wing is
held with the feathers loose and not pressed together, it can easily
be spread so far that gaps appear between the broad parts of the
feathers on the body side of the steps in the webs, as in Figure 17.
That is, one can overspread it.
That is how a bird at rest appears to stretch its wings—with the
feathers not pressed together. But, if one personally takes the
place of the air stream which would be met in flight, and holds the
wing so that each feather is pressing up against that which over-
Japs it, and then one tries to spread the wing as far, it will be found
that a brake is quite suddenly put on which seems to lock all the
emarginated feathers in the “slot-fully-open” position. Only by
tearing apart the barbs of the front webs, where they still overlap
the rear webs, can one effect any further spreading. The secret of
284 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
this braking effect appears, at first, simply to be friction between
specially-shaped roughened areas on the feathers, which come into
contact at the critical moment. The difference between the texture
of the upper surface of a feather in one of these areas, and elsewhere,
can quite easily be seen with the naked eye. Figure 18 shows the
extent of one of them in a typical emarginated feather.
TA; =: SSS
UMMA PE Derg 7 ocappog pe
Ficurp 18.—Upper surface of a Slot-forming feather in a griffon
vulture’s wing. The dotted line shows the limits of the friction
area
But examination of the surface with a microscope indicates that
the roughness is more than a friction surface; it shows that the effect
is brought about by thousands of tiny hooks which stand out above
the main surface, and engage with the ribbed underside of the broad
part of the overlapping feather. These hooks are really an extension
of the normal mechanism that holds the barbs of a feather together.
BAARGULES BARBIicELS
FicurRE 19.—Construction of the upper surface of a slot-
forming feather from a griffon vulture’s wing. This sec-
tion is outside the friction area. Only a few of the
branches have been drawn in
From the shaft of any feather the barbs branch off at an angle
inclined toward the tip. From them the barbules (Fig. 19) spring.
Those that are on the side of the barbs nearest the root of the feather
are simply spines that lie in serried ranks, springing at a fine angle
from the barb, but those that are on the side nearer the tip are much
more complex in structure. Figure 20 shows a typical example of
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 285
their normal development. The hooks are designed to engage with
the spiny barbules on the next barb toward the tip of the feather.
Both hooks and spines are very flexible, and that is why a feather
can be made to return to its proper tidy state after one has withdrawn
the hooks from their hold on the spines by rubbing it up the wrong
way, as, for instance, when using the feather as a pipe cleaner—
unless, of course, the pipe is a very foul one; then, nothing will
avail.
Barbules Barbicels
ge X ve or Hamuli
Spines ck
ee
Seed
Radii :
FigurRE 20.—Section through adja- FIGURE 21.—WSection through adja-
cent barbs outside the friction cent barbs in the friction area
area
Figure 20 is a sectional view of two such barbs with the hooked
barbicels branching downwards off the tip-side barbules. In the
friction area of a slot-forming feather, however, the tip-side bar-
bules do not terminate at the point where the last barbicels branch
off downward, but go on, with a sharp upward bend, as shown in
Figure 21, and bear several more hooked barbicels.* These give the
friction area its typical rough appearance, and their purpose is to
hook on to the next overlapping feather and prevent overspreading.
Ze
tsB A C ~
B A
Figure 22.—Section through the Fiaurn 23.—As in Figure 22, but
unemarginated parts of adja- here the friction area of the
cent slot-forming feathers with lower feather is just coming into
the friction area not engaged operation at Z. AB is the total
breadth of the friction area
During the earlier stages of the spreading process the protruding
underside of the shaft of an overlapping feather rides over the fric-
tion area of the lower feather and prevents its engaging (this phase
is shown in Figure 22) ; but at the critical moment, when the slot is
approaching the fully open position, the sharply curved-down lead-
ing edge of the upper feather arrives at the forward margin of the
friction area of the lower one, and the hooks engage, gradually locking
the feathers together, except for a certain amount of “ give ” due to
the springy nature of the barbules and barbicels. Figure 23 shows a
® Only a few wings have been exanrined for this peculiarity, but it is suspected that all
slot-forming feathers possess it to a greater or less degree.
286 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
sectional view of two feathers in this position. The narrow parts of
the feathers outside the steps in the webs are, of course, in the fully
separated position at this final stage of the spreading of the wing.
The arrow marked Z shows where the friction is greatest.
This friction business does not apply only to slotted wings, for
ordinary ones, such as those of the swallow (Hirundo rustica),
woodeock (Scolopax rusticola) and gull, display varying degrees of
this locking tendency at the moment when the tips of their feathers
are about to separate. The secondary feathers, and also the unslot-
ted primary feathers of birds that have slotted wings, are subject to
it as well.
In most wings the engagement of the friction areas is made the
more certain by the upward curl of the rear margins of the feathers,
which assists the air pressure to bring the two surfaces into contact.
One other interesting point about the device is that the front edge
of the front web of an emarginated feather is always sharply curved
down in the unemarginated part, but in nearly all such feathers (the
vulture and perhaps some other soaring birds are exceptions, as was
mentioned before) it is to all intents and purposes flat from the step
outwards to the tip, that is to say, along the “ cutting edge.” This
peculiarity is quite helpful when one is trying to measure the total
length of cutting edge that any wing possesses. The reason for this
difference is that inside the step, the front web has to do the work of
digging down into the friction area of the feather in front of it, and
working as a limit stop to prevent overspreading; but, outside the
step, its purpose is simply to cut the air.
In a table to be given at the end of this paper will be found the
proportion of cutting edge to length of wing in a number of repre-
sentative types of birds. It is there called the “slot factor.”
The apparent action of the opening of the wing-tip slots can now
be summed up as follows: When the wing has spread so far that the
emarginated parts of the feathers are about to separate, the air
stream, if it has sufficient incidence, forces the broader rear webs of
the separated parts of the feathers upward, so that the blades are
twisted toward the line of the air stream. In this manner the inci-
dence of these separate feathers becomes less than that of the main
wing; and, consequently, the direction of the force reacting on them
is more forward. The result is that they all move forward and the
slots open wide. At the same time the tips of the feathers bend
upward, owing to the absence of mutual support. At a certain
moment during this process the individual forward movement of
each feather is checked and finally stopped by the arrival of the
curved-down leading edges of the still overlapping parts of the
feathers at the front margin of the friction areas of the feathers
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 287
which they overlap. Air pressure from beneath helps these surfaces
to engage (the stiff down-curved front webs are not affected by the
suction from above), and any further forward movement takes the
form of spreading the whole wing, because all the primaries, and to
a certain extent the secondaries, are then practically locked together.
The need for this automatic limit stop to prevent overspreading is
strong evidence that the final stages of the expanding of a wing, at
any rate a slotted one, are done by air pressure and not by muscular
force, except in so far as the breast muscles are preventing the wing
from flapping upwards, or are actually pulling it down, as in flap-
ping flight.
This description of the opening process of the slots in a multislot
wing applies in limited degree to a single-slot one.
VII. THE MULTIPLE WING-TIP SLOT
One outstanding difference between the multi- and the single-slot
wing is that in the former the slots extend right across the wing
from front to rear. They must, therefore, serve some purpose addi-
tional to that of simply delaying the moment at which the wing
surface in rear of them stalls. With the notable exception of the
game birds, most of the bigger birds which have a high development
of the multislot wing, such as rooks, ravens, eagles, buzzards, etc.,
are in the habit of soaring, or at least of gliding very slowly if they
do not actually soar. As any experienced airman knows, the control
of lateral balance becomes increasingly difficult as air speed is re-
duced, so one is led to suspect that there may be some connection
between slots and lateral control at the low air speeds used by soar-
ing birds.
Think of one of these birds as it glides slowly, with wings set at
a comparatively large angle of incidence,’ in order that it may make
the best use of the low air speed. If the tips of the wings were solid
(i. e., unslotted), and the bird wanted to alter its lateral attitude
(put on “ bank”), a small change of the incidence of one wing tip
would only have the effect of altering the lift slightly on that side
and of tilting the bird a little one way or the other; but if the
feathers in that wing tip were already lying near the angle of “no
lift ” (as they would be if the wing were slotted), a small alteration
of their incidence would either double the lift they might already
be giving, reduce it to nothing, or actually reverse the direction of
force and convert it into a downward reaction. In other words, a
small movement of the control surfaces of a slotted wing has the
7Sir G. T. Walker, in his paper on this subject, which appeared in the Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, in 1924, makes out this incidence to be in the region of 28°
for a soaring vulture.
288 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
same effect as a large movement in an unslotted one; and, further, a
slotted wing tip can go on giving lateral control at far greater angles
of incidence of the main wing than a solid one can. It is the auto-
matic twisting of the emarginated parts of the primary feathers
toward the line of the air stream and the angle of “no lift” that
achieves this desirable result.
There is a parallel to this controlling device in a certain man-made
flying machine called the “ pterodactyl” * (the word means “ wing
fingered”). It is really, with all due respect to its designer, only
an experiment as yet; but it may well be the prototype of big things
to come, for it can be made to perform efficiently in the air at lower
speeds than can be used with any other modern fixed-wing aeroplane.
Its best trick is the same controlled stalled descent as was described
on page 281, with this small
difference, that, in the ptero-
dactyl, the controlling sur-
faces at the wing tips are
not twisted toward the line
of the air stream by means
of air reaction; instead,
they are moved by the pilot
himself. They consist of
swiveling flaps which, in
form, are prolongations of
the wing tips, and so have
Ficurp 24.—The Pterodactyl tailless monoplane. nothing in front of them, as
eorise tare asa gtreeln ee prea ete the ordinary aileron has, to
disturb the flow of the air
before it reaches them. They can be moved, like ordinary ailerons,
in opposition to each other, by means of sideways motions of
the control stick; but they can also be made to move together by
pushing the stick backward and forward. Thus, when a controlled
stalled descent is being made, the pilot, by pulling the stick back,
can turn both flaps so that their front edges are lowered and their
trailing edges raised, a movement which brings them into line with
the air stream. ‘Then, if lateral control is required, sideways move-
ments of the stick will make them work like normal ailerons, in
opposition to each other.
Figure 24 shows what the pterodactyl looks like when it is carry-
ing out such a flight. The fact that it is tailless has no bearing on
the present discussion; but it may be as well to say here that the
control flaps, being set so far back on the machine, can be used in
8 The pterodactyl described has been superseded by a new type (19381) whose control
surfaces are not designed to operate in the manner described.
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 289
the place of the elevators of a normal tail when they are moved in
conjunction.
No doubt nature, having feathers to work with in place of the
sheets of metal or fabric which we use, finds it more economical
to employ a number of small surfaces for controlling than a single
large one, such as the controller of the Pterodactyl; but it is just
possible that investigation of the matter might reveal something of
use to aircraft designers. A comparison between Figures 24 and 6
is illuminating in this respect.
Figure 25 illustrates another way of looking at this antistalling
effect of the multislot wing tip. It should be considered in con-
G&<-<--
= "“eese =e
_—-—
€---
= Dereclion ak
—_——_——_—_>
Bee WEE O) Wes mave ment
a
€ oo
Vigurn 25.—Section showing the probable flow of the air
stream through the wing-tip of the eagle in Figure 1 ¢
nection with Figure 1, as it is meant to be a diagrammatic sketch
of a section taken through the separated wing tip feathers of the
left wing of the eagle® shown in Figure 1. The dotted arrows rep-
resent the probable flow of the air stream. They are drawn by
guessing, in the light of our present knowledge of the behavior of
air, at the way in which one would expect the air stream to behave
on meeting such an obstacle as this slotted wing-tip.
Working backwards from the first feather, each blade in turn
deflects the air stream in a downward direction, so that the one
behind it does not have to twist through such a large angle to set
2See footnote 2 on page 272.
®Some years ago Mr. Handley Page, without knowing that this type of slot was to be
found in birds’ wings, designed and tested a model, having 7 slots, arranged in much the
Same way. He found that it increased the maximum lift by 250 per cent at an angle
of 42°, as compared with the unslotted wing.
290 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
itself at a similar angle of incidence. In this way the direction of
flow of the air stream is changed step by step through a greater
angle than the stalling angle, without the burbling that would cer-
tainly occur if the attempt were made to do it all in one act.
Each feather is acting for the benefit of its “next astern” in the
same way that a Handley-Page auxiliary winglet does for an air-
plane’s wing; while it is, at the same time, producing a useful reac-
tion in an upward direction, with either a slightly backward or
slightly forward inclination, depending upon its position in the wing.
The reason for the bending up of separated feather tips has
been discussed, but the question whether they serve any useful purpose
in so doing still remains. There can be little doubt that when so
bent they improve stability at low air-speeds. The surfaces of the
blades of the feathers, instead of facing upwards and downwards,
point more or less sideways, and so they become little keel surfaces,
and, placed as they are at the ends of the long levers of the wings,
their effect must be considerable. Really, they serve the same pur-
pose as the “ dihedral angle ” (upward inclination of the wings from
root to tip) used by aircraft designers to give lateral stability.
VIII. THE RELATION BETWEEN SLOTS AND THE SHAPE OF WINGS
It was observed at the beginning of this paper that slots are not
particularly noticeable in the wings of small birds in flight. The
reason for this is that. the eye fails to see them because they are
very small, and the wings usually move at a great speed. The truth
is that many of the small birds are very well equipped with slots.
A blue tit, for instance, has five; a song thrush (Zurdus philomelus)
three; the robin (Hrithacus rubecula), tree creeper (Certhia fa-
miliaris) and long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus) have four; but in
none of these birds is their development so marked as in some of
their large relations. Figure 26 shows two views of a thrush’s wing
with its slots fully opened, and Figure 27 similar views for com-
parison of the unslotted wing of a swallow at full spread.
As a rule, the slots of small birds are formed more by the emargi-
nation of the front webs of the feathers than of the rear ones, but
these rear webs are usually so thin and flexible that they must be
very easily persuaded to blow upwards, in such a way as to clear the
leading edge of the next feather behind. In molted feathers, one
often finds that the trailing edges have been worn to shreds opposite
the emarginated front web of the next feather in rear by continual
engagement and release with it.
Small birds probably derive a certain improvement in lateral
control from their slots, but they do not often appear to carry out
the stalled descent, and they certainly never do anything in the
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 291
nature of soaring; they use a quick flap for a great part of their time
in the air. Bearing this, and the somewhat different construction
of their slots, in mind, we might do worse than try to find some other
advantage that they may derive from them.
All small birds that are well equipped with slots possess com-
paratively short, square-tipped wings; just the opposite in shape to
those of the few that have no slots at all; and the slots seem to vary
in number and development so strictly in accordance with the shape
of the wings that one might almost formulate a law governing the
matter.
Compare the wings of the smaller birds among those shown in
Figure 28. The swallow’s is the longest and thinnest (relatively) and
has no slots, though the tips of the first two flight feathers are per-
~
wnmwe ot
ae ~~.
wee ewer eee
Figure 27.— Upper and
Figurb 26.—Upper and lower surfaces of lower surfaces of the left
the left wing-tip of a song thrush wing-tip of a swallow
mitted by the friction areas just to separate for a distance of about
half an inch inwards from their points (fig. 27). Then comes the
pointed wing of the starling, with two very short slots, and of the
quail with about the same development. The latter’s wings are com-
paratively long and narrow. The wryneck has exactly the same
length of slot (1.2 inches), but that is relatively a better equipment,
because its wing is 1.8 inches shorter than the quail’s, yet of the same
breadth. The wheatear, with its much broader and squarer wing, has
three well-developed slots, as also have the square-tipped wings of the
goldfinch and the thrush.
Here we seem to have an indication of the use of slots in the wings
of small birds. It has long been known that the ideal airplane wing,
from the point of view of “ lift ” alone, is one of infinite span, because
such a wing, if it existed, would have no tip over which the air could
escape sideways. Air, like other things we know, will avoid doing a
job of work if it possibly can. Some of the air underneath a wing,
instead of lifting a bird by allowing itself to be forced downwards by
149571—_33——20
292 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
the action of the wing, will slide out sideways,’® or even move upwards
over the wing tip into the region of reduced pressure to join forces
with another stream of air that is doing no good. This other stream
AA {1
COMMONTERN BLACK-HEADED SWALLOW GOLDENPLOVER WOODCOCK Shells ee Sued CRESTED
Sterns +irundo GULL Mirpundo rust<a@ Charadrius Scolopax
Larus rids/bundus apricarias rusticola Asio Pocrseus Pecticepe ene
RUDDY NIGHT-HERON WRYNECK QUAIL STARLING KESTREL
SHELD-DUCK Nycticorex Lynx lorguilla Ci see coturniz §Sturnusvulgaris Falco tinnunculus
Gesarca ayelreorax
ferruginea
JANOD!
SCOPS OWL. NIGHTSAR LAPWING HOUSE-SPARROW PIED WAGTAIL SKY ~ LARK
Otus scops Caprimu/gus Vane//us Passer domesticus Motacilla yarrellit Alauda
europoceus vanellus arveris/s
GOLDFINCH SONG-THRUSH BLACKBIRD WHEATEAR ZZARD HOOPOE
Cardvel/s Turdus philomelus Turdusmerula nanthe wnanthe be fo SuleO =Upupa epops
Carduclis
ATY A Ae
LITTLE BUSTARD RED-LEGGED CEIEROe VULTURE PARTRIDGE COCK - PHEASANT
Otrs Cetrax PARTRIOGE Gyps fulvus Perdix perdin Phesianus colchicus
Alectoris rufa
I'igurE 28.—Wings of a number of representative types of birds in fully-
spread position. All are reduced to a common size for the sake of
comparison
consists of air that is moving in sideways to assist in filling up the
partial vacuum on the top of the wing.
10 The reason in technical language is that a gas which is compressed will tend to ex-
pand equally in all directions. By the same token it will tend to flow into a space where
there is a reduced pressure; that applies to the top of the wing.
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 293
All this air that is moving sideways and upwards constitutes a
waste of energy, because the only way a wing can obtain lift is by
causing air to move “ downwards.” The broader a wing tip is, the
greater will be the amount of air that thus tends to circulate around
it, and the less efficient the wing will be.
In Figure 29 the rectangular shapes A and B represent two wings
of equal area, but A is three times as long as B, and therefore one-
third of its breadth. Suppose that a particle of air strikes the lead-
ing edge of wing A at point X. It endeavors to escape sideways from
the pressure, but fails to do so before reaching the trailing edge at Y.
<POTEPS. SETAE.
Me
flighl
FIGURE 29
That means that the wing has got full lifting value out of it; but any
particles that strike the leading edge outside point X will make good
their escape without completing their job, so we can suppose that the
area affected by wing-tip air spill is the triangle X YZ.
In wing B we might reasonably expect this area to be far larger
(the triangle RQP) with a correspondingly greater loss; but if the
tip is split up into a number of narrow winglets (keeping the total
area the same), as in wing C, the affected area will consist only of the
sum of the little shaded triangles in wing C, and that is a good deal
smaller than RQP. That is what nature appears to have done to the
short, broad wings of birds that can not afford to have long, narrow
ones. The actual result is that circulation of air from the lower to
the upper surface of the wing-tip is reduced.
294 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
It is interesting to note that the slotted areas of a good many of
the wings shown in Figure 28 bear a distinct resemblance to the
affected areas of wings A and B.
But why should we confine ourselves to small birds in considering
this theory? Surely all birds that have separating wing-tip feathers
must derive a certain amount of this benefit from them. The idea
is supported by the fact that some of the really big birds that have
long and narrow wings, compared with, say, a wheatear, are well
supplied with slots. Vultures, cranes, and swans are good exam-
ples (fig. 80). Now compare the shape of their wing tips with
those of the big birds that have no slots, the sea birds; the unslotted
wings are, without exception, the more sharply pointed. Square tips
are large tips, and the loss from them will be large unless they are
slotted.
The reason why some birds, and not others, can afford to have
pointed tips on their wings is not too clear, but it seems that a
Ficurn 30.—Left, crane; right, swan. (Sketched from photographs)
pointed tip must be longer than a square slotted one to have the same
value; and whereas a bird that always flies in the open, such as a
sea gull or a swallow, will not find that his long wings get in the
way, one that lives among trees and bushes, and other things that
obstruct the air, if so equipped, would find them a decided encum-
brance.
So the root of the matter would appear to be this: That if his
method of living will permit, a bird will have long, narrow, pointed
wings of efficient airfoil shape because that is the nearest he can
get to the ideal wing; but if he must have shorter ones to suit his
environment, he can not afford to have them pointed, because such
a shape would deprive him of some of his wing area; therefore, in
order to prevent the great waste of surface that the spilling of the
air over a broad wing tip occasions, he must have it split up into
a number of small airfoils of efficient shape.
Incidentally, this “ shaping ” of the wing is known in aeronautical
circles as the aspect ratio. A long, narrow wing is said to have a
high aspect ratio, and a short-broad one a low aspect ratio. The
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 295
ratio is length divided by breadth, so if one wants the aspect ratio
of a bird’s wing, the mean breadth must be taken. Some aspect ratios
are given in the table at the end of this paper.
Game birds, such as the partridge, pheasant, and blackcock, are
excellent examples of the type that can not afford to have long, nar-
row wings. Instead, they have multislotted, broad, square-tipped
ones. Blackcock and pheasants actually have six slots in each wing,
and proportionately these slots are among the longest of any that
are found in British birds.
Another factor which probably influences the shape of the wings
of these birds is their habit of lying close when disturbed, and then
getting up with tremendous acceleration. Long wings requiring a
big sweep, with slow strokes, would get in the way, and would permit
the acceleration to die away on the upstroke.
Ficurp 31.—The first eight flight feathers of a partridge
IX. SLOTS IN FLAPPING FLIGHT
Archibald Thorburn’s excellent pictures of game birds in flight
and many others, have made everyone familiar with the appearance
of their wings, with their many-fingered tips. Figure 31 shows the
shape of the individual flight feathers of a partridge’s wing, and
Figure 32 how they fit together and form the well-marked slots.
One should not be too sure that the action of this type of slot is
quite the same as that described already, because the broad parts
of the webs, inside the steps, are mostly so very short that they
can not have the same power to limit the separating of the feathers
as have those of a buzzard, for instance (fig. 4). This type of
stepping down is known to ornithologists as “ basal emargination.”
The extreme squareness of the wing fits in with the theory of
wing-tip air spill; it is also possible that these slots may be of use
296 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
to a partridge for control when he is using a high angle of incidence
in gliding flight; but they are so very long that one can not help
suspecting that their unusual shape is in some way connected with
the characteristic fast-flapping flight of all game birds. In the wing
of a partridge all six slots extend inwards for over one-third of the
span of the wing, which may, therefore, be considered as consisting
of two sections, the slotted and the solid. The question is, “ How
does the slotted section behave under the conditions of the extremely
rapid beat of these birds? ”
Before attempting to answer that question, it is necessary to run
quickly through the action of a wing in simple, straightforward,
flapping flight. The most important thing to remember is that the
Upper covert feathers
f—e— Under coverls
igure 82.—Under surface of a partridge’s right wing-tip. The un-
emarginated parts of the feathers are shaded where they overlap
force produced by the reaction of displaced air must act, for the
most part, upwards to counteract gravity; but also in a slightly
forward direction to overcome the comparatively weak force of
the resistance of the air to the passage of the bird’s body.
For the sake of argument, let us imagine a case in which the
required direction of total reaction is 10° forward of the vertical.
To obtain it, the blades of the wings must lie in a plane tilted 10°
(approximately) forward of the horizontal. The inclination of that
plane governs the direction in which the wings must move through
the air, for the air stream created by their movement must strike
them at a suitable angle of incidence. Suppose that this angle is
10°; then the wings must move forward through the air on a path
inclined at 20° below the horizontal, as shown in Figure 33. This
gradient path is a combination of the forward movement of the
bird through the air and the downward movement of the wings
themselves.
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 297
During this down beat, the wings, having their bones much nearer
the leading than the trailing edges, will automatically tend to turn
their blades into line with the air stream; so all that a bird has to
do to apply the 10° of incidence is to prevent his wings turning any
further when they have reached that incidence.
So much for the down beat. With regard to the upstroke, it is
only necessary to say here that, as a rule, no lifting or driving force
is produced; instead, the wings are relaxed and allowed to stream-
line themselves so that they offer the minimum of resistance to the
downward and backward gradient air stream which they must
encounter while moving up. The subject of the detailed working
of wings in different phases and forms of upstrokes is such a tre-
Direction of 10
Flight mee =
Figure 33.—The action of a section of wing in the down beat
OB, the path of the section through the air; CB and AB, the down-
ward and forward movement of the section while it is travelling from
O to B; R, the direction in which the resultant force acts.
mendous one that it could, like the question of the down beat, be
made to fill a book by itself.
The action of the slot-forming feathers in the upstroke appears
simply to be to join in with the others in effacing themselves as much
as possible.
During a single down beat in straightforward flapping flight, all
points on a wing move forward about the same distance, but the
distance they move down varies a great deal, from approximately
nothing at the shoulder to a maximum at the tip. Therefore the
wing tip encounters a much steeper gradient air stream than the
wing root, and to get the required incidence along the whole span,
the wing itself must be twisted like the blade of a propeller. It
seems probable that no incidence is given to the wing root and only
a small amount at points inside the wrist; otherwise the reaction at
those points would be directed backwards from the vertical—the
298 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
last thing that is wanted. That being so, the twisting would be
reduced, but still a good deal would remain. That it does remain is
borne out by photographs (fig. 34), and one can see it, by watching
closely, with the naked eye.
The quicker the down beat, the steeper will be the gradient of the
air stream encountered by points situated near the tip of a wing,
unless the forward speed is correspondingly increased. Game birds,
such as partridges, usually do fly at great speeds, but for the time
being consider one that has not got up full speed. With its excep-
tionally quick beat, one would expect its wings to be very much
twisted in the down beat, but in the few poor photographs which are
obtainable of these birds in flight, there appears to be even less
twisting of the wings than in slower-flapping birds; so one is led to
suspect that the action of the slots is to allow the feathers that form
them to twist individually. This is almost the same action as that of
the wing-tip slots of a soaring bird, the main difference being that
Ficurn 34.—The down beat seen from behind showing the twist in the
wings. Left, fantail pigeon; right, crane. (Sketched from
photographs.)
practically the whole feather (except in the case of the rearmost
slotted one) is free to twist, because the unemarginated overlapping
parts are so short.
It appears then that each separate feather works away by itself,
just like a little wing of a very high aspect ratio (long and narrow),
giving the bird the double advantage of saving wing-tip air spill
and weight; for a wing that could compete with the extreme twisting
that an unslotted partridge’s wing would require would have to be
very strong indeed, and therefore heavy.
Figure 35 shows what a section of the wing taken halfway along
the open slots might be expected to look like under these conditions.
The pecked lines show the direction of the air flow between the
feathers, and the arrows show the probable direction of the resultant
force reacting on each feather. They remind one rather of a row
of turbine blades.
This action of the slots in the down beat seems to be applicable to
the flapping flight of all birds that have wing-tip slots, for the
feathers can easily be seen to separate in each stroke; at any rate
in such birds as rooks and crows. By careful watching it can even be
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 299
seen in faster-flapping birds, such as pigeons. It is quite probable
that this “ doing away with the need for the whole wing to twist ”
is one of the most important duties of wing-tip slots.
X. THE WRIST SLOT
In addition to the wing-tip slots already described, all birds are
the fortunate possessors of another antistalling device which is even
more like the yen gear. This is the alula or bastard wing.
— SEL
Direclon of
‘— YS aS ‘. Flight
ae ie Se LY w
is Slream p
=
Ficurn 35.—Probable flow of air through the separated flight feathers
of a partridge in the down-beat
It consists of one main feather overlaid by two or more auxiliary ones
which give it strength and thickness. These all spring from a small
limb which corresponds in the anatomy of a bird to the thumb of the
human hand. In Figure 386 a wing is shown with all the feathers
removed except those of the bastard wing and the primaries and
secondaries. The relationship to a thumb is unmistakable.
shoulde» @
Figurn 36.—Under surface of the left wing of a dove, with the covert
feathers removed
This limb has a set of nerves and muscles all of its own. Headley,
in The Flight of Birds (1912), remarks that it has more muscles
than one would expect to be at the service of so insignificant a piece
of machinery. Nowadays (1930) we know that it is not so insignifi-
cant, except perhaps in size.
Shufeldt, in his Myology of the Raven, says that the muscles and
tendons that serve the bastard wing are so arranged that when the
300 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
main wing is fully spread the feathers of this tiny winglet are also
spread so that they present the greatest amount of superficial area
to the atmosphere; that is, they are ready for action.
When the main wing is at a fairly small angle of incidence, and
there is no risk of a stall, the bastard wing serves no active purpose.
It is so shaped that it forms part of the leading edge and therefore,
with that part of the wing, is subject to pressure from the air stream.
This pressure keeps it in position, and it does nothing more than
fill in the slight “ reentrant curve” in the leading edge of the main
wing which can be seen in Figure 86.
When a wing is at normal angles of incidence, the area of pressure
on the leading edge covers the whole breadth of the bastard wing,
but as the incidence is increased the area of suction moves forward
and sucks the bastard wing upward.
Ficurne 37.—Left wing of a woodcock seen from below and in front,
showing the bastard wing in the “ slot-closed’”’ position. A—B,
total length of the bastard wing
This may seem to be rather an astonishing statement, but it should
be borne in mind that the air which passes over the top of a wing
can not exert any upward suction until it has passed over the summit
of the curve, or camber.
The upward force which the suction exerts may perhaps be added
to by muscular action in accordance with Headley’s observation, and
may also be augmented by that part of the air stream which passes
under the leading edge of the main wing, for there is a little pocket
formed between the front of the bastard wing and the “reentrant
curve ” mentioned above into which air must press with increasing
force as the angle of incidence gets greater. In Figure 87 this pocket
is shaded black. But one thing seems certain, and that is that the
opening of the wrist slot is mainly automatic and that it is brought
about in the same way as the opening of a Handley-Page slot.
Once the initial upward movement has started, a stream of air
passes between the main and bastard wings and assists the suction in
its work by pressure from beneath. Having formed part of the
curved-down leading edge of the main wing, the bastard wing, when
acting on its own, finds itself to have a considerably smaller angle of
incidence than its parent (fig. 38), therefore it remains effective and
unstalled when the main wing has passed the stalling angle.
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM _ 301
Another result of its smaller incidence is that the force reacting
approximately at right angles to its surface is directed more forward
than that on the main wing. Consequently, it is dragged forward as
well as upward, like the separated feathers which form wing-tip slots.
Further, the angle at which the pivot of the joint is set allows of
motion more easily in that direction than in any other. The upward
and forward displacement can be clearly seen in Figure 6. The right
wing of the marsh harrier provides a plan view which shows the
forward movement, and the left wing an elevation which shows the
upward movement.
Nearly all bastard wings are curved down not only from front to
back, but also from root to tip, so that when they are in the open
position and the curve has been slightly reduced by the upward force
of air reaction, they lie nearly parallel with the leading edge of the
FIGURE 388.—Probable flow of the air stream through the wrist slot of
a blackcock. <A, near the root of the bastard wing and B, near the
tip
main wing and are to all intents and purposes in the same position
with regard to it as the auxiliary airfoil of an airplane wing which
is fitted with the Handley-Page device; that is, displaced to a position
parallel with, above, and in front of it.
Their action when in that position must be very much the same as
that of the separated tip of the first flight feather of a single-slot
wing described on page 280, in other words, to form an automatic
safety device to prevent stalling when a large angle of incidence has
io be used.
The action of the closing of the slot formed by the bastard wing
must be just the reverse of the opening action. Put shortly, it may
be said that as the incidence of the main wing diminishes toward the
angle at which the assistance of an auxiliary to prevent stalling is no
longer required, the incidence of the bastard wing being already less
than that of the main wing, approaches the angle of “no lift,” and
auully it sep deloulees downward reaction which forces it joan into
its “stowed position ” in the reentrant curve.
It is possible that the tiny “ flexor ” muscle (flexor brevis pollicis),
which is so arranged that it pulls downward on the bastard wing,
assists air pressure in this process, and it is also possible that the
302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
“extensor ” muscles, which are designed to pull upward on it, come
into play in the opening process more than has been suggested; but
the most likely duty of these muscles is to damp down the movements
of the bastard wing and “steady ” it in the closed or open position,
just as the springs of the Handley-Page slotted wing device do.
Shufeldt says of the “ flexor ” muscle that it is sufficiently powerful
to retain the bastard wing in the closed position when the wing is
folded.
The considerations which govern the length of the bastard wing in
different types of birds form a most interesting study. Like the
wing-tip slot, this other form seems to be influenced chiefly by the
aspect ratio, for birds with long, narrow, pointed wings, like the
sea birds, and such birds as the golden plover and woodcock, have
smaller bastard wings than the dhevercn types, such as the game
LA Tm
COT mae
= =
waite uti
1 PR eT iil
test | aa f
ela ui Parsee
Ficurn 39.—Bastard wing of a blackecock. A, seen from below and in
front; B, from above, slightly foreshortened
birds; though, again, such matters as wing loading, size of bird, speed
of flap, span loading (weight carried per unit of length between
wing tips)™ and habits of living may have a certain influence as
well. Figure 40 and the left-hand bird in Figure 41 show examples
of the bastard wing in action, and the right-hand bird shows the
appearance of a wing when the slot is closed.
It would be rash to come to any conclusions as to the lessons that
are to be learned from the antistalling devices of birds without care-
ful consideration of the influence that flapping flight may have upon
their design; but two things seem to stand out clearly: (1) That
the ideal glider is one that has great span, high aspect ratio, and
pointed wing tips, like an albatross, and (2) that such a glider would
probably be but little improved by the presence of any form of anti-
stalling device, either on the main wing or on the control surfaces.
But if practical considerations, such as structure weight, housing, and
handiness for operation, dictate a smaller span, then it is worth while
1 Data on these matters will be found in the table.
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 303
considering the fitting of some form of aid to control and lift. As
all airplanes are, in effect, gliders with motors in the place of
gravity to give them forward movement, the same thing should
apply to them as well.
SUMMARY
The connections between the ways of birds in the air, their size,
the shape and loading of their wings, the presence or absence of slots,
and, when present, their development, are so intricate that many
years of investigation would be required before really satisfactory
conclusions could be reached.
The surface of the subject has 4
only been scratched in this
paper, but it is hoped that the
scratches will have indicated
the amazing width of this
field for research and the pos- Das
sibility of the riches that may
be found init. For what they
are worth, the observations,
theories and tentative conclu-
sions which have been men- Ficurs 40.—Meadow-pipit about to alight to
tioned are summarized below. ped 5 egies learenan t ae
1. Wing-tip slots are
formed by the gaps
left between the emar- Wak
ginated tips of the ae
flight feathers ofa
fully spread wing. Ficurm 41.—Great black-backed gull; on left, with the
9. They vary in wrist-slots open and, on the right, closed. (Sketched
: from photographs.)
number, if present. at
all, from one to eight, and in size from nearly half the length of a
wing to mere vestiges.
3. Their presence appears to depend primarily on the proportion-
ate length of the wings of a bird and on the shape of their tips.
Short wings, with rounded or square tips, have the greatest number
and the highest development of these slots. Long, narrow, pointed
wings have none.
4. By doing away with mutual support between feathers, slots
form an automatic antistalling device, which appears to work in
somewhat the same way as the Handley-Page slotted airplane wing.
5. Wing-tip slots increase lateral control at low air speeds.
6. They reduce the losses in efficiency of a wing that are due to
the spilling of air over the tip.
304 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
7. They reduce the amount of twisting that is required in flapping
flight to align the outer parts of a wing reasonably near the gradient
of the air stream, which is much steeper at the tip than near the
shoulder.
8. The final spreading of a wing, which opens the slots, appears to
be done automatically, air reaction dragging the separated feathers
forward when the incidence is sufficiently high.
9. Overspreading of a wing, to the extent that gaps would appear
between the feathers on the body side of the inner extremities of the
slots, is prevented by means of special friction surfaces on the over-
lapping parts of the feathers.
10. The wings of all birds found in the British Isles possess a
second antistalling device situated just outside the wrist joint, in
the shape of the bastard wing. Its size varies in different species
from about one-tenth of the length of the wing to about three-tenths.
In form, action, and effect, it more closely resembles the Handley-
Page auxiliary airfoil than wing-tip slots do.
Some flight characteristics
Wing
loading | Span
Weight | (pounds| loading} Span | Aspect
Wing- | Wrist- |Number
tip slot | slot fac- | of wing-
(ounces)| per (ounces | (inches) | ratio '
square | per foot) factor tor tip slots
foot)
ong-taileditita=-ee= 0. 25 0. 26 0. 46 6. 50 1.85 1. 46 0.15 6
Wrenifledgling== 5 2s -3l 47 .719 4.70 ee Sit . 24 3
Coalitit-2 Ss Se ee EO .33 .39 BY | 6. 90 2. 20 1.00 13 4
Wren (Ad tlt) eee eee nee . 36 . 40 . 92 4.70 1.70 . 67 18 3
Blueitite- ee eS ee -ol .33 . 60 7.40 2.2 1.10 16 5
Marshttitves: Ao ae ee .38 36 60 7. 60 2. - 98 17 5
Goldfinch == 44 36 69 7.70 2.3 . 54 15 3
Robink 2s ieee See ees . 50 39 . 71 8. 40 1.9: . 82 18 4
Swallow (fledgling) __________ . 56 35 . 66 10. 25 2:00), |bonoeeoee Op ly An [eas Wee
Spotted flycatcher__________- 700 .35 . 69 9. 70 2. 45 sile/ .16 3
Gray.wactal = . 56 . 44 .70 9. 60 2. 27 - 45 . 16 3
Greatititseee see eee . 69 . 49 .97 8. 50 1. 68 1. 36 20 6
Wiheatears esse eee ot 36 86 10. 00 2. 20 . 84 15 3
Blackcaph sees sie Sree aa als: 62 1.10 8. 00 2. 30 . 42 17 3
inet 2 ee eee ifs) . 54 1.00 9. 00 2. 32 45 16 3
House sparrow (hen)___---__- 5 1) . 43 1.10 8. 00 2. 50 45 16 3
Pied wagtaili=s = 2202 oe .15 41 85 10. 60 2. 37 .47 18 3
Reedsbuntings 22-2 Sessa fi) . 43 95 9. 50 2. 05 . 76 .16 4
Swallow (adult)_...__-._-_--- 81 . 34 . 80 12. 50 a) ee le A | ee oe
Hedgeisparrowe--sseseesee ee 81 . 67 122 8. 00 1. 75 . 69 18 4
Mellow hammers a . 87 . 56 1.04 10. 00 2. 20 215 17 4
Bulfinch! (hen) . 87 63 1.16 9. 00 2. 05 . 36 19 4
@hafhinchy(hen) ese ee . 87 . 64 1.10 9. 60 2. 30 13 18 4
House sparrow (cock) __---_-_-- 1.00 . 58 1.18 10. 20 2. 30 . 58 17 3
Green-finchiss.20= 3.25.23 a2 . 55 1, 25 10. 75 2. 50 . 62 17 4
Wirynecks 2. Sass ears Sah Se 1.37 . 68 1, 37 12. 00 2. 80 .18 ie: 1
Skylarke-see so ee ee 1.50 . 50 1. 40 13. 00 2. 60 . 60 .16 3
Jack snipe__- 2. 00 . 93 1.70 14. 20 3.:80s|S2s-.-2-2 a 9 (eee = ee
Song thrush_ 2. 31 Sui) 2.00 13. 80 2. 46 - 55 hele) 3
Nightjar__ 2. 31 . 40 1.30 21. 50 3. 40 . 36 . 16 2
Hoopoe___ 2. 50 . 55 1. 66 18. 00 2. 06 1.00 .16 3
Starling___ 2. 50 16 2. 00 15. 00 2. 90 aval .16 2
Golden plover___ i 3. 00 1.18 2.10 17. 00 3: 00) |aenesaee= AW ee
Black bird(hen)2as22s2) ee 3. 50 . 87 2.90 14. 50 2.10 70 . 20 4
Quailen ie es aan 4.00 1.76 3. 20 15. 00 a lr 18 . 20 1
Commonisnipe sas 4.00 1. 23 2.75 17. 50 B28) |saeeeee (65) 45-2 23S2e
Sparrow hawk (hen) ____-___- 4.00 45 2. 00 24. 00 2. 65 1,22 eal 5
SCODSIOW] Se sen ee eee 4, 25 . 64 2. 38 21. 40 2. 36 ol . 20 2
IMG G Ae R Ne ee SE 4, 25 1.05 3.10 16. 50 2. 40 Ave 18 4
1 The wrist-slot factor of a young song thrush on its first day out of the nest was found to be 0.3.
SAFETY DEVICES IN BIRDS’ WINGS—GRAHAM 305
Some flight characteristics—Continued
Wing
loading | Span
Weight | (pounds| loading | Span | Aspect | Wine. | Wrist- | Number
tip slot | slot fac- | of wing-
(ounces)| per (ounces | (inches) | ratio :
square | per foot) factor tor tip slots
foot)
ILIA) hid eS ee 6. 00 1.02 3. 67 19. 60 2.40 . 68 .19 4
Bee wena ene see ee eee 6. 00 1.03 3. 52 20. 50 1.90 1. 42 17 7
BAD WANE Mes ela Sas SE et rs 6. 50 Slavs 2. 90 27. 00 2. 80 39 .14 3
Black-headed gull___________- 7. 00 . 63 2. 47 34. 00 CUTE ey ee mL Uhs | eee
estrele tee aa ee fia tha . 96 Bate 25. 00. 3. 30 22 .19 2
IBS TLE eG mee ene ae ee 12. 00 2. 00 8. 50 17. 00 2. 33 1.70 . 22 6
(OLNO TT ney Ds ie ee Sa 12. 00 . 76 4. 64 31.00 2.20 1.30 .18 5
iMoaorhenii=2--2 = 222 = 12. 00 1. 43 6. 75 21.30 at (| Pee 20!) Sosa ae
Domestic pigeon 12. 00 95 5. 00 28. 50 2. 80 53 .19 3
Woodcock 12. 00 1. 24 6. 00 24. 00 3:00) | 2a = Po 34 (ee Se eS
pReall(cock) 22 eees ieee ed 13. 00 1. 96 6. 40 23. 50 3. 60 11 .16 1
Commonigi eee 16. 00 . 85 4. 50 43. 00 By25)| Sanaa ae Gu) Ee ee
Red-legged partridge________- 16. 00 2. 50 10. 00 19. 00 yale) 86 . 30 5
Ed Ok ae a see eas 16. 00 98 6. 30 30. 40 2. 43 1.10 . 20 5
Short-eared owl___________--- 16. 00 . 76 4.80 39. 50 3. 25 08 13 2
iWiood" pigeon == 5 18. 00 1. 48 8. 00 27. 00 2. 62 39 . 20 3
Shoveller duck _______.___-._- 20. 00 2. 50 8. 00 30. 00 4,30 13 5 ile 1
Belittileypustard a 22. 00 1. 46 7.70 34. 50 2.95 1. 20 15 5
Cinthia ae ee 23. 00 Pays} 11. 50 24. 00 2. 67 1. 60 22 5
Great crested grebe__________-_ 24. 00 3. 50 9. 60 30. 00 4, 20 11 15 2
(Chater 29. 00 2. 00 9, 20 38. 00 eS Ul (ee ea or a ee
Willow -erouse=-. =.= 2222 222 30. 00 2. 85 13. 30 27. 00 2525 1.30 27 5
Pheasant (cock)_._-.-._---_-- 38. 00 2. 40 19. 00 24. 00 1.70 2. 80 27 8
TEIG)RO) 1 ae ee ga ee 40. 00 92 9.10 58. 00 3. 00 33 12 3
BIRCK COCKS sean eeat sane 40. 00 2. 56 15. 40 31. 00 2. 46 2. 00 24 6
Griffon’ vulture. 22> == 27> 260. 00 1.85 31. 00 94. 00 272) 1. 40 14 8
COLUMN 1.—Gives the approximate weight in ounces.
COLUMN 2.—The wing loading is given in pounds of weight carried per square foot of
wing area. The area is taken to be the greatest projection of the 2 wings spread with
their tips at right angles to the body. .
CoLUMN 3.—Gives the weight in ounces carried per foot span of the wings. These units
were chosen as giving figures of convenient size for drawing graphs. The span is taken
to be the distance between the wing tips when spread as for measuring area. f
CoLuMN 5.—The aspect ratio (or ratio of fineness) is arrived at by dividing the distance
between wing tip and body by the mean breadth. The mean breadth is obtained by taking
7 measurements along the direction of flight, at points situated 1%, 3%, ete., of the
length of the wing measured inwards from the tip. . 4
COLUMN 6.—Gives the total length of slot that opens between separating feathers in al
wing, as a fraction of the length of the wing measured from tip to body. The length of
ey. 1 slot has been taken to be the length of the shorter margin of the slot when it is
ully open.
.CoLUMN 7.—Gives the length of the bastard wing as a fraction of the length of the
wing. As it is difficult to determine how much of this winglet is actually operative,
owing to some of it being blanked off by smnrall feathers near the root, the measurement
has, in all cases, been taken by sliding a ruler under it and pressing in toward the wing
root as far as possible.
The figures given above are only intended to give a rough idea of how the data vary
with different types of birds and different methods of flying. They should not be con-
sidered as accurate, because they do not represent averages taken from a large number
of birds, and because accuracy in measurement of these things is well-nigh impossible.
THROUGH FOREST AND JUNGLE IN KASHMIR AND
OTHER PARTS OF NORTH INDIA
By CasrEy A. Woop
[With 2 plates]
The man in whom that uneasy affection Wanderlust has developed
must feel a thrill if, without warning, he comes across Richard
Hovey’s Sea Gypsy. Its call is even more alluring than Kipling’s
Road to Mandalay, and it might be read as a prelude to that
immortal poem:
I am fevered with the sunset,
I am fretful with the bay,
For the wander-thirst is on me
And my soul is in Cathay.
There’s a schooner in the offing,
With her topsails shot with fire,
And my heart has gone aboard her
For the Islands of Desire.
I must forth again tomorrow!
With the sunset I must be
Huli-down on the trail of rapture
In the wonder of the sea.
In any event, I may be pardoned for quoting it as an introduction
to some of the wonderful natural beauties that one encounters in
the far-off jungle lands that border on central Asia.
If one were to draw a line (over 1,600 miles long) from Kabul
in Afghanistan to and along the southern frontier of Bhutan and
another one following the northern aspects of the Himalayas from
the western outlet of the Khyber Pass to the upper border of Bhutan,
it would inclose an irregularly curved parallelogram that frames
one of the most important physical and historical areas in the wide
world. At intervals during many centuries there migrated, by way
of wild passes that double and twist their sinuous paths over the
mightiest of mountain ranges, peoples of many northern types
who fought their way into the fertile plains of Hindustan. Greeks,
Persians, Afghans, Parthians, and many minor tribes contended for
the mastery of the industrious but less warlike inhabitants of north
and middle India. As the tides of invasion ebbed and flowed the
149571—383——21 307
308 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
conquerors of the day left their imprint to some extent upon the
physiography of the land. Occasionally they cut down forests,
partially to replant them, in part to restore them as gardens,
orchards, shady walks, and leafy avenues. Moreover, though they
rarely built a road through a forest or over a mountain that com-
pared with the highways characteristic of Roman constructions,
yet all over northern India are indications that they made mountain
and jungle roads sufficient for the needs of transportation.
The historic Khyber Pass is, of course, the best known of the gate-
ways through the Himalayan region, and when I passed over it in
1926 and looked for some remnant of the extensive forest that prob-
ably clothed both sides of the rugged valley along which Alexander
the Great and Kublai Khan led their disciplined hosts nearly 1,500
years ago, I looked in vain. Here and there a scrubby tree, a
solitary pine, or a clump of herbaceous shrubs showed their strug-
gling heads above the rocks, but otherwise the landscape consisted
of rocks, rocks, rocks, bathed in the hot sunshine. No wonder the
Afridis, Pathans, and other hill tribes are and were forced to forego
husbandry, forestry, and agriculture and to live mainly by inter-
necine warfare, robbery, and murder. Somebody has said the peo-
ple who do not raise cattle or cereals generally raise hell!
Farther east and south, but still within this northern parallel-
ogram, the scene changes. We find that the nearer we approach
Nepal and the eastern Himalayas the more liberally clothed in
tangles of jungle and evergreen forest are the mountain sides.
The derivation of the word Himalaya is both poetic and appropri-
ate. Him is the Sanskrit for snow and alaya means abode; hence
“home of the snow.” Geographically and roughly this magnificent
mountain range may be described as that elevated area between
Thibet and India fenced in by the rivers Indus and Brahmaputra.
The sides of the many valleys that crisscross the plateaus of these
lofty mountains are generally very steep. The gorges and canyons
have not been filled by the rivers and creeks that slowly carry the
detritus of the hills to a resting place in the lower levels. There are,
however, some exceptions to the rule, one of which is the lovely Vale
of Kashmir about whose natural history it is my purpose later to
speak. The alluvial débris carried by the river Jhelum meets a rocky
strait near Baramulla and instead of being borne along swift cur-
rents to empty into the Ganges it is deposited at the foothills to
form that fertile basin whose praises have been sung for so many
generations.
If I were asked to say what section of north India affords the best
opportunity for a study of the denizens of this montane bushland I
would be inclined to choose Kashmir. On the other hand, such are
NORTH INDIA—WOOD 309
the attractions of almost every elevated terrain of the Himalayan
Range that it is difficult to make a selection. Perhaps my choice of
Kashmir and its surroundings is influenced by a happy spring and
summer spent in that terrestrial paradise. From our house boat on
the Jhelum we made excursions into the higher mountains, to Gul-
marg and toward Thibet, then across the Indus into Afghanistan and
to other localities.
Owing chiefly to the higher latitude, greater elevation, and dis-
tance from the ocean, the flora of the valleys and plains that stretch
along the southern aspect of the Himalayas is less decidedly tropical.
The humidity is less and the lowered temperatures of the cold months
are more marked. Kashmir, for example, has a “ real winter ” with
plenty of snow and ice, spring rarely appearing before the end of
April. The summers are hot and the small European population
generally moves to higher levels during July and August.
The dominant factor in plant life everywhere is elevation. At the
higher levels of the Indian hills many floral species are found iden-
tical with those of the British Isles; in the Alpine areas there are
varieties very similar to those of the Arctic Zone, while certain
flora found throughout Japan, China, and Siberia is more or less
abundant; for example, the rhododendrons, the tea plant, Adama,
and numerous others, although I have never noted a number of well-
known European and Asiatic plants, such as wild azaleas, arbutus,
or Hrica. However, the flora of the Himalayan Range very largely
includes that of both central and southern India.
To my mind the most wonderful form of plant life in the Hima-
layas is its silva. In the eastern sections the mountains are prac-
tically covered by dense forests up to 18,000 feet, and some tropical
examples are found as high as 7,000 or 8,000 feet. The western ranges
are not so liberally supplied; the upper limit of forest and jungle is
somewhat less, about 11,000 feet, tropical types disappearing at 4,000
or 5,000 feet.
From this brief outline it may be gathered that the Himalayan
chain with its foothills, valleys, and river bottoms furnishes the
botanist with an almost complete repertory not only of the great
majority of Indian plant life but of illustrations of the principal
floral families of the entire world. On the other hand, the region
has very few indigenous species—few plants with characters all its
own. Sir Thomas Holdich calculates the number of flowering
species to be between 5,000 and 6,000, among them several hundred
common English plants chiefly from the Alpine and temperate
regions.
The yield of the forests of Kashmir is of great value. All the
northward-facing slopes are covered with dense forests, a consider-
310 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
able part of which is of the valuable deodar. This is cut into lengths,
launched into the streams which find their way into the Jhelum,
thence to float down the river to the plains of the Punjab. Here
the logs are caught, where the river is slow and shallow, and sold
at considerable profit to the State. The deodar is a very handsome
tree, and is a variety of the cedar of Lebanon. It will be noticed
by visitors to the valley along the road between Uri and Baramulla,
especially near Rampur. Less beautiful and less valuable as timber
is the blue pine (Pinus ewcelsa). It grows at a greater height than
the deodar, which does not flourish over 6,000 feet, and it may be
seen at Gulmarg. The Himalayan spruce (Picea morinda) is very
common, and also grows around Gulmarg, but its timber is of little
value. Birches grow high up above the pines and next the snows;
their timber is of no use, but the bark is much employed for roofing.
In the forests are also found silver fir, horse chestnut, and maple.
Another tree, a native of North India, is the mulberry (Morus
indica). This species is a valuable source of income chiefly because
of the food the leaves furnish the silkworm. The fruit resembles a
small red peppercorn, and such of it as escapes the birds furnishes
the native with material for pleasant stews and tarts. The States of
Kashmir and Jummu distribute (under certain conditions) to native
cultivators of this indigenous tree supplies of the eggs of the silk-
worm, whose cocoons are in turn sold to the silk factories. In Mo-
hammedan Kashmir there is no objection to the necessary destruc-
tion of the moth living in the center of his cocoon, and the industry
flourishes, but in Buddhist India and Ceylon this act is regarded as
a serious religious offense, and it strongly militates against the com-
mercial success of the enterprise in certain parts of those countries.
All the forests are owned by the State and are under the charge
of a forest department, often with a conservator from the Govern-
ment service at its head. The boundaries of forests are laid down
and the State determines under what conditions neighboring vil-
lagers and others may be granted the customary concessions for fell-
ing timber, grazing, and gathering grass and fuel. It is usual for
the State to let fuel and fodder be gathered free and to charge for
grazing and for cutting timber for building and agricultural pur-
poses. The trees are counted, marked for felling according to their
age, and in regular succession, so as to allow of young trees growing
up to fill their places. In many other ways the forests are watched
so as to prevent their denudation, as well as to avoid the damage
that would be caused through the rainfall rushing off at once instead
of being held up by the trees.
By this regulation of the forests the State raises a handsome
income; it insures the soil being retained on the hillsides, and it has
NORTH INDIA—WoOoD Baal
the water held up in springs as a reservoir. The authorities in the
Punjab also know that the rain which falls in Kashmir will be held
up by the forests till the cold weather, when it is wanted for the
canals which are taken off from the Jhelum and Chenab Rivers
flowing out of Kashmir territory.
Of the trees that flourish in the level portions of the valley, the
chenar is by far the most striking. As it grows in Kashmir it is a
king among trees, and its autumn foliage is one of the many attrac-
tions which go to make Kashmir one of the supremely beautiful
spots in the world. Its botanical name is Platanus orientalis, one
of the varieties of the plane tree. The chief characteristic is the
massiveness of its foliage. It grows to a considerable height and
has long outstanding branches and great girth. One that Lawrence
measured was 63 feet around the base. As the leaves, that remotely
resemble those of our sugar maple, are broad and flat, the whole
mass of foliage is immense and so thick that both sun and rain are
practically excluded from anyone sitting under it. Under the chenar
trees in the residency garden at Srinagar one can sit through a hot
summer day without a hat and through a summer shower without
getting wet. All this mass of foliage turned purple, claret, red, and
yellow in the autumn tinting, backed against a clear blue sky and
overhanging the glittering, placid waters of the Dal Lake or the
Jhelum River, forms a picture which can be seen in no other country.
The elm tree of Kashmir, though not so striking as the chenar,
is still a very graceful object. One in the Lolab Valley has been
measured as 43 feet in girth, and in the residency garden at Srina-
gar are some fine specimens. ‘The walnut is more common, and
around the villages many handsome examples of this tree are seen.
The poplar is now very common, and is planted alongside the road
to what is to the tourist quite a distressing extent, for though these
trees furnish desirable shade they also cut off the view. The timber
is used a good deal for building, though it is of poor quality. The
willow is a more useful tree and is much planted in moist places.
Its leaves are used for fodder and its shoots are to some extent
employed for basket making.
Of the many herbaceous forms that delight the eye in the
Himalayan region perhaps that gorgeous lily, Gloriosa superba, is
the most curious and attractive. Other plants and shrubby vegeta-
tion are chiefly representatives of European and Asiatic growths.
One may see on the foothills and in the unexposed interiors almost
identical examples of such well-known plants as clematis, gentian,
primula, saxifrage, geranium, potentilla, and berberis, while species
of holly, birch, alder, maple, elm, ash, walnut, yew, horse chestnut,
as well as many coniferae and junipers, are well represented.
312 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
In Kashmir a number of introduced silvan species flourish. Prom-
inent features of the landscape are long and healthy avenues of
Lombardy poplars planted, as windbreaks, and sources of local
timber, through the influence of British officials. These trees are
numbered and carefully protected from local thieves whose easy
morals do not prohibit the destruction of a tree “ when nobody is
looking.”
The cherry and the plane tree, tea, and cinchona are other suc-
cessful immigrants, giving certain parts of the country a distinctly
European cast. In the high mountains, however, the Kashmir flora
is that of Persia, Afghanistan, and Siberia. Finally, although there
is a native coffee plant growing in the hotter parts of the Himalayas,
climatic influences do not favor the growth of commercial species.
Many of the Himalayan silva are noted for their beautiful blooms,
for their peculiar fruit, their flaming leafage or the eccentric forms
of trunk or branches. One notices not only these, but also rare
rhododendrons, magnolias, daphnes, laurels, nutmegs, cherries, roses,
viburnum, pandamus, bombax tree ferns, bamboos, etc., some of them
adorned with orchids and other epiphytic plants. Among the last-
named is the calamus, climbing over even the tallest trees.
As Holdich points out, rhododendrons begin at 6,000 feet, become
abundant at 10,000 to 14,000 feet, and form in some instances masses
of shrubs 2,000 feet above the forest line. Orchids are very numer-
ous, especially between 6,000 and 8,000 feet.
As Sir Thomas Holdich also indicates, the distribution of animal
life of the Himalayan region results from about the same factors
that determine the character of its botanic forms. The connection of
north India with surrounding countries and continents is doubtless
responsible for the large number of modern European and far
eastern species and for many corresponding prehistoric forms.
A well-known animal characteristic of the Thibetan highlands is
the yak (Bos grunniens), that dark brown, long-haired ox, weighing
often 1,000 pounds, that when domesticated proves as valuable to
the people of central Asia as our own buffalo was to the North Ameri-
can Indian. It must be remembered that a still more useful animal
is a cross between the yak and the horned cattle of Hindustan. The
Himalayan region furnishes also numerous wild sheep, the musk
deer, wild asses, ermine, antelopes, and many other animals.
Unless one has visited and picnicked in them it is difficult to
realize the picturesque beauty of the gardens planted by the Moslem
emperors of India and their wives. <A love of landscape decoration
was an outstanding virtue of the Persian conquerors of north India,
who were quick to see and eager to take advantage of the many
beautiful settings for landscaping on a grand scale, including
NORTH INDIA—WoOOoD Sid
that glorious combination of verdure covered mountain, valley,
lake, and river that constitutes charming Kashmir. Of the larger
gardens laid out by them in the neighborhood of Srinigar the most
famous is the Shalimar, a few pictures of which my camera vainly
attempts to portray. Artificial and highly ornamental canals supply
water for irrigating purposes and for the fountains, whose sprays
and rills still dot the landscape and add their coolness to the sur-
rounding air. Of the kiosks that remain after a lapse of three cen-
turies and that still adorn the Shalimar, the beautiful colonnaded,
marble pavilion of Shah Jahan is the most noticeable. Fed by an
aqueduct that in imperial days brought an abundant supply of water
to the gardens, this architectural gem is the center of attraction in
this lovely garden.
The Shalimar is the chief holiday resort of the Kashmiri living
in the capital city, some 3 miles distant. Here one meets a decorous,
merrymaking crowd who, arriving in boats on the Dal Lake as well
as by bullock cart and on foot over a picturesque highway, bring
their food and picnic the happy, livelong day.
We had the unusual opportunity of being guests of the present
maharajah when he celebrated in these gardens his accession to the
throne of Jummu and Kashmir. He invited to this celebration sev-
eral of the neighboring chiefs, their wives, and attendants, all of
whom were housed in gorgeous tents whose floors were covered with
priceless carpets and rugs. The few Europeans, officials in particu-
lar, turned out in their best. But who could compete with the multi-
colored silks, turbans, and flashing jewels of the native chieftains
and their entourage ?
Drinks of all kinds (except the alcoholic), sweetmeats, and cakes
were passed to the guests, and in surroundings of natural and arti-
ficial splendor, which we never hope to see again, an unforgettable
afternoon was passed. On the way home in the summer evening the
boatmen of our gaily curtained shikara, still under the influence of
the lively scenes we had just left and to the accompaniment of many
curious instruments played by musicians in our own and hundreds
of other boats, sang as we paddled along. The gardens of Dal Lake
certainly deserve to be classed among the prime attractions of north
India.
During my residence in Kashmir, I had distant views of one of the
largest birds in the world, the Himalayan bearded vulture (Gypaetus
barbatus hemachalanus Hutton), sailing slowly along the high moun-
tain sides toward Little Thibet. I have also had several opportuni-
ties of discussing the habits of this wonderful bird with naturalists
who had succeeded in securing specimens. One of these, a friend
who lives in Agra during the winter and in Simla during the sum-
314 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
mer, promised to send me a skin or two. There is much confusion in
the minds of amateurs regarding this bird, some believing the Euro-
pean lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus grandis Storr) to be identical
with the north Indian species. There are, however, several distinct
varieties of this remarkable bird of prey, the Kirke Swann mono-
eraph (Accipitres) recognizing five good species. This is not the
proper place to stress the point, but the so-called Swiss bird is the
species best known to tourists and readers of popular zoological
works. Unfortunately, however, this magnificent bird is no longer
to be found in its former Alpine haunts, but is confined to the higher
mountains of Spain, to the Balkans, and to a few of the Mediter-
ranean coast ranges. A few examples also survive in Asia Minor
and Persia.
Stories of the Alpine lammergeier (or of any other vulture)
carrying off live goats, chamois, or young children are without foun-
dation. Despite its name, it is doubtful whether it has been known
to molest even a (healthy) lamb.
Round about Simla the residents speak of this bird as the “ golden
eagle.” Both Hutton and Hodgson say that its food is usually
carrion, sometimes the smaller mammals, and reptiles; it rarely
carries off anything alive larger than a fowl, which it devours while
on the wing. In spite of the fact that the “ eagle ” is really a vulture
it presents a noble appearance, with its immense spread of wing as
it “ quarters ” the hill tops, floating along in noiseless flight search-
ing for food, keeping a few feet from the tree tops or ground until
it has beaten the chosen area from top to bottom.
Comparatively few monkeys are found in the mountain jungles
of north India. The Himalayan langur (Semnopithecus schista-
ceus) is a long-tailed species living in the cooler elevated regions.
It is of a grayish color and sports bushy eyebrows and a chin tuft.
Tt is unusually active and exhibits wonderful leaping powers.
Innumerable are the stories told about this highly intelligent and
well-known monkey. Among them is the account given by Mrs.
H. C. Eggar in her An Indian Garden.
A pair of great brown Langours, living in the jungle, come every day
along the garden wall, swinging themselves up into the topmost branches of
the best mango tree, where they sit defying everybody, breaking off the choicest
fruit and eating it before our eyes. The dogs nearly choke themselves with
wrath, and so do we, standing underneath. Jogee and Poonia and their men
hurl stones and abuse at them, none of which affects them in the least. The
largest one is about 5 feet high, if standing straight upright, and he sat there
in the tree last week, calmly munching his mangoes and throwing us down
the large seeds, caring not a pin for Jogee. When a stone came rather near
him, he watched it and ducked his head; then changed his position, crossing
one leg over the other comfortably, and continued eating. He treated me with
the same contempt, though I waved a large white umbrella at him, frantically
NORTH INDIA—WooD 315
jerking it up and down as high as I could reach. A Langour, upcountry, once
took up a terrior and tore it in two, and another ran off with a native baby.
When the crowd pursued him, he rapped the child’s head on the ground and
killed it, so vicious are they. I hoped these monkeys would disappear when
there were no more mangoes to steal, but now they come for the guavas. So
we are obliged to gather them before they are ripe.
To this tale should be added that in India the monkey is a sacred
animal which seriously to injure or to kill is an offense against law
and religion.
I saw a number of bats, but nothing out of the ordinary except per-
haps the interesting fruit bats, of which I shall speak later. Bears
are quite common, as are wildcats and wild dogs, while in the lower
valleys leopards and tigers are permanent residents. The mon-
goose and the civet cat (and other smaller Ye/idae) are quite com-
monly seen, but there are no forest wolves nor foxes. Aelurus, a
peculiar animal called the “ cat bear,” closely resembling our Ameri-
can racoon, is found here, as well as an aberrant badger and the
familiar flying squirrel. The elephant is now found only in the
outer north Indian forests as far as the Jumna, and the rhinoceros
as far as the Sarda—receding limits within historical times. The
habitat of these familiar beasts once extended to the Indian plains,
but modern firearms have been the cause of their contracted area.
Deer, wild pigs, including a pygmy species (Sus silvanius), as
well as several goatlike mammals, abound in various localities.
I always associate that remarkable fruit bat, Péeropus edulis, the
flying fox, that one sees in flocks sometimes numbering thousands all
over India and Ceylon, with another living object, the beautiful
deodar (Cedrus deodara). 'These destructive Chiroptera roost (or
hang upside down) from many other trees, but the small fruit of
this “ timber of the gods” seems to be especially attractive to all
fruit bats. Pteropus certainly justifies his vernacular name. His
extended wings measure often more than 3 feet, his body is covered
with fine fur, and both head and body are shaped exactly hke a
small, dark-colored fox.
Almost every evening in any part of the country where there
are fruit bats and this lovely cedar, parties of flying foxes seem
to rise in the rays of the setting sun and take their flight with lazy
but loud flappings of their wide membraneous wings to settle in
the trees. Natives who have lawful possession of a gun take pot
shots at them, those that fall being used as food. I have eaten
many kinds of “flora and fauna,” but I never could bring myself
to the mastication of fruit-bat flesh, although the Indians declare
it tastes like chicken.
The domestication of the deodar in most countries has made it
familiar to Americans. Indeed, I believe I have seen as fine examples
316 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
of this charming cedar in California as in India. In the semitropical
States it preserves the year round its graceful habit and fresh green,
modified from time to time by small flowers and ripening fruit—
appearances to the delight of the passer-by—sweeping the ground
with its branching foliage and affording shade and shelter to man,
bird, and beast.
India is also famous for its flowering trees, and May is the month
when most of their blooms can be seen at their best. The gardens
and forests of north India have a full share of these silvan wonders,
too numerous even to be mentioned here. I know a city garden where
over a hundred flower-bearing varieties may be seen, together with
such commonplace examples as date palms, figs, and mangoes. One
also sees the jak (Artocarpus integrifolia) with its immense, elon-
gated pumpkinhke gourds growing not only from all the branches
but from the trunk, often weighing 30 pounds. Both the coarse
albumen and malodorous seeds of this species are cooked and eaten
by the natives. Then there is the peepul tree (/icus religiosa) or
bo tree, sacred to Buddha, one of which (in front of a Sinhalese
temple in Anarajapura) is the oldest historical living object, having
been planted there more than 2,000 years ago. This venerable tree
is only exceeded in age by our California redwoods.
A fine example of tree blooms is yielded by the tulip or cork tree
(Millingtonia hortensis) that flowers in the tropical winter. Its
elmlike tops and surrounding branches are clothed by pure white,
scented florets. Also covered with masses of white, sweet-smelling
blossoms is the sacred neem tree (Melia dubia).
Perhaps the most attractive of all the flowering trees of north
India is the Brownia. Twice a year it furnishes a massive crop of
rhododendronlike, heavily perfumed, yellow and red blossoms. Not
only are the spreading branches thickly loaded, but, wonderful to
relate, through rents in the bark of the trunk appear magnificent
blooms that may almost conceal the bole of the tree.
For some reason or other I failed to recognize near my Indian
residence a good-sized Gardenia florida, often called the cape jasmin,
of whose white flowers I am very fond. When I did wake to the
fact of its presence, I also learned that one of my servants had daily
robbed the tree of its bloom and sold me a buttonhole bouquet for a
few annas. I am foolish enough to believe that the surprised pleas-
ure of each transaction that I continued to express really meant
more to him than the few pennies that were duly exchanged for these
lovely flowers that would have sold for as many shillings on Bond
Street.
One of the most interesting of the trees introduced into India and
Ceylon from tropical America is the candle tree (Parmentiera cer-
NORTH INDIA—WOOD 317
eifera). It is a medium-sized, flowering species whose biennial
blooms spring almost altogether from openings in the bark of the
bole and branches, and give no indication of the remarkable fruit
that is to follow. One barely notices the inconspicuous tree and its
flowers, but later on is struck by the appearance on stem and branches
of a profusion of yellow, juicy, candlelike fruit. Surely it can not
be the same tree! The long, cylindrical fruit (see the illustration)
bears a remarkable resemblance to the old-fashioned tallow candles
of our forefathers. Little use is made of these natural “ candles,”
except that in times of stress they are said to be eaten by the natives.
Speaking of “introduced ” species of plants and animals, it is by
no means easy to say how long flora and fauna must live and propa-
gate their kind in a new land before they can claim a place among
the citizens of the country into which they come as migrants. It is
a matter of opinion. For example, among the Indian flowering
trees are the Brownias (already mentioned) that dispute the title
with Amherstia as the most beautiful blossoming trees in the world,
yet the members of the former genus were originally South Ameri-
can. The most attractive of them all and the one that I know best is
B. grandiceps, the rose of Venezuela, that reaches a height of 40
feet. When in full bloom this tree is one blaze of glory from bunches
of bright red flowers borne in large, dense heads at the extremities of
the branches. As in the case of Amherstia, the foliage is also very
conspicuous. The young mottled leaves are grown as long flaccid
bunches, giving the tree the appearance of bearing two dissimilar
sets of flowers.
One of the most striking and showy of eastern silva is the so-
called pride of India or queen’s flower (Lagerstroemia flos-reginae),
named after the Kast Indian botanist Magnus van Lagerstroem. It
is found all over India, Ceylon, and Malaya and from April to
October bears from the ends of its branches erect panicles of lovely
bright pink or mauve blooms. With the exception of a short time
during the rainless season these beautiful trees retain their green
foliage. The margin of the pretty Kandy Lake in Ceylon is bright-
ened by many flowering trees, but none more attractive than this
magnificent species.
I have always been intrigued by a flowering tree whose acquain-
tance I first made in India, the Bauhinia purpurea, a species of that
interesting genus whose name is derived from the related facts that
its leaves are joined in twos at the base and that there lived and
worked in the seventeenth century two Swiss brothers, scientific
twins, members of a family celebrated as physicians and botanists.
How appropriate that Caspar and Jean Bauhin should sponsor this
interesting tree, now an adornment of many gardens all over the
318 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
world. In addition to B. purpurea, probably the most widespread
and best known of the genus, with its large, showy, orchidlike pink
flowers merging into purple, we have B. triandra or mountain ebony,
closely resembling purpurea; B. tomentosa with yellow flowers; B.
krugii, native of Puerto Rico; and many others whose fruit is a
long, flat, beanlike pod.
Planted and encouraged to grow near Buddist temples is often
found another of my favorites, the Naka or Ceylon ironwood (Mesua
jerrea). It prefers the hot and moist areas of British India, where
during April and May this moderate-sized, conical, and handsome
tree profusely blossoms as large, scented, white flowers with a yellow
center of numerous stamens. New, deep crimson leaves appear
twice a year, greatly adding to the beauty of an attractive species.
In the drier regions of India (one sees avenues of it on the road
to Mount Abu) grows an erect 40-foot tree with large, broad, tri-
foliate leaves, the “ flame of the forest” (Butea frondosa). During
the dusty, rainless months when nature calls for some attractive
living thing to cheer the passer-by this remarkable tree puts forth
a profusion of beautiful crimson or orange-scarlet flowers whose
flaming blooms justify its English vernacular name. It has, of
course, many native titles, among them the dhak, mentioned by
Kipling as a meteorological forecaster. When the tree blooms early
and soon withers, the dry season will be prolonged and disastrous.
The tree also produces a useful resin, called Aino, and a valuable
fiber. The young branches are a source of lacquer and the flowers
are used in India for making orange and yellow dyes.
This partial catalogue of beautiful trees of north India would
be incomplete without speaking of what is generally regarded as
the most lovely of all the blossoming silva one meets with in the
Far East. I refer to an originally Burmese tree, the Amherstia
nobilis, named after Lady Amherst, the wife of a former British
governor of Burma. H. F. Macmillan’s description (Tropical
Gardening, pp. 82, 83) of this silvan beauty as found in Ceylon
gives a fine picture of the charming species, that combines in a
wonderful way ornamental foliage with showy blossoms. The
leaves, accompanied by
large graceful sprays of vermilion and yellow flowers, drooping from every
branch and interspersed with the handsome foliage, present an appearance of
astonishing elegauce and loveliness. It is in blossom for the greater part of
the year, except during long periods of rainy weather, the chief flowering
season in Ceylon being from November to April. The tree grows to a height of
50 to 60 feet, is usually round-topped, with many slender branches and dark-
green pinnate leaves. A remarkable feature is the long, hanging, brownish-
pink clusters in which the young leaves appear. This habit is also characteristic,
NORTH INDIA—WooD 319
to some extent, of certain other tropical trees as Brownia grandiceps and
Saraca indea and declinata. In the latter case the young leaves are mottled
pale gray or almost white.
The tree thrives in the moist low country up to 1,600 feet, and requires deep,
rich, and well-drained soil. It does not seem to flourish near the sea, and is
rarely met with about Colombo. It produces seed very scantily anywhere, a
pod or two (which are flat, brown, 6 to 8 inches long, containing one to three
large flat seeds) occasionally being all that can be obtained.
The genus Cassia furnishes many a beautiful, flowery tree species
more or less widely spread over India, to the delight of the visitor.
It is impossible here to do more than describe (briefly and inade-
quately) a few of the more attractive varieties.
The most interesting is, perhaps, Cassia fistula, the Indian
laburnum, but also known by several other English and native
vernacular synonyms. ‘This is a rather small, upright tree and one
of the most beautiful objects in the north Indian forests, where it
prefers a dry or well-drained soil. When in full bloom, it suggests
its common name, bearing masses of yellow fiowers in pendant
racemes. The blooms are, with the frangipani, much used as temple
offerings while the astringent bark is used in medicine and for tan-
ning. Another remarkable character of this laburnumlike shrub is
its fruit—black, cylindrical pods that grow to a length of 20 or
30 inches, the pulp of which is a well-known laxative.
Although originally a native of South America, Cassia grandis,
or the horse cassia, is found in north India. It is a spreading tree
that attains a height of 40 to 50 feet, bears a profusion of pale pink
flowers during the dry months, February and March (when it is
completely deciduous), and in June produces numerous thick, coarse-
skinned curved pods with an offensive odor.
A more attractive example of cassias is C. multijuga—a slender,
quick-growing tree—indigenous to South America. It is in full
bloom during August and September and is practically smothered
with immense branches of bright yellow flowers, suggesting, as
Macmillan says, a glorified tree calceolaria. It grows everywhere
fairly well, but prefers a dry soil and climate.
Finally, during May and June a moderately sized, deciduous pink
cassia (Cassia nodosa, so named because of its knotted stems) bears
in great profusion lovely, bright-pink, rose-scented flower sprays.
Tt is a native of Bengal and, like all the cassias, produces large
pods—cylinders 12 to 15 inches long.
Trees that take kindly to all tropical and semitropical countries
and to some temperate areas are several species of Jacaranda. I have
seen many examples in both the New and Old World, including
India, Ceylon, and California, although these trees are originally
South American.
320 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
J. mimosafolia is a very beautiful species not only on account of
its profusion of purplish-blue, bell-shaped flowers, but because of its
elegant, mimosalike, bipinnate leaves. When the blooms are shed
they form a thick blue carpet that characterizes this charming tree.
One of the most beautiful flowering trees of India (and of other
tropical countries) is the iyavaki (Peltophorum ferruginewm), a
large symmetrical tree of quick growth, indigenous to Malaya and
Ceylon. It has a spreading top and fine feathery foliage. It blos-
soms irregularly twice a year, flowers and fruit often appearing at
the same time. Its flowers, large, erect panicles, are scented and
brownish yellow, and the tree when in full bloom presents a
magnificent spectacle.
Of special interest to the traveler in India is the widespread ap-
pearance of the tree (or shrub) frangipani or pagoda tree (Plumeria
acutifolia), a large, low, spreading shrub, quite bare of leaves, intro-
duced from America. It is a familiar tree in almost every tropical
country. In the Far East it is a well-known “temple tree,” its
strongly scented heads of white, yellow-centered flowers being a com-
mon offering at Buddhist altars. A scarlet variety (P. rubra) is
very showy and remains in full bloom for several months.
A wonderfully beautiful and highly ornamental tree has spread
by introduction into most tropical and semitropical countries. This
is the famous Flamboyante, flame tree or golden mohur (of India).
It originated in Madagascar and is now familiar to travelers because
of its truly gorgeous flowers. It usually blooms in April and May,
grows to a height of 40 to 50 feet, and with its spreading habit is
well calculated to show a flaming top and handsome, long, feathery,
bipinnate leaves. In many countries (British Guiana, Tahiti, India)
I have seen avenues of these flame-colored tree tops whose glory must
be seen to be fully appreciated. It is best known in America as the
Royal Poinciana.
An Indian tree that originally came from West Africa is espe-
cially conspicuous from a distance because of its tallness and erect
growth. This is the so-called tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata).
I have noticed most of these in and about Kandy, Ceylon, where
they serve the double purpose of shade and ornament. The large.
erect, bright scarlet-orange flowers that crown the topmost branches
of this handsome species make it a conspicuous object in even the
distant landscape. The unexpanded flowers always hold consider-
able water that, scattered by a passing breeze, may be unexpectedly
showered on the pedestrian beneath. This circumstance has given it
one of its common names, the fountain tree.
Stenocarpus sinuatus, the Queensland fire tree, has taken kindly
to north India, where it is occasionally seen. It is an erect tree 40
NORTH INDIA—WoOoD yak
to 50 feet high, whose peculiar and very showy clusters of scarlet
flowers are noticeable objects wherever they grow. It flowers from
May to July at elevations from 1,500 to 4,000 feet.
Another important Australian species is the flame tree (Sterculia
acerifolia), of medium size, a species with large, glossy, angular
leaves, preferring high altitudes, at least up to 5,500 feet. It blooms
in May and June when bare of leaves, producing brilliant masses
of bright red blossoms.
Tropical fruit trees little known in America.—As every observing
traveler in the Near and Far East knows, only a few edible tropical
fruits have been widely grown and improved by scientific cultivation
in American and other temperate climates. And yet there is no
reason why many others should not be domesticated in the United
States. As Macmillan has pointed out, certain tropical fruits, un-
surpassed for their lusciousness and food value, are still capable of
considerable improvement and of adaptation to a change of environ-
ment by “selective or asexual propagation, by budding, grafting,
layering, cuttings, etc., or by hybridization and high cultivation.”
These problems have long been considered by our highly compe-
tent and active Department of Agriculture, and it seems a wonder
that some of the most obviously valuable of the long list of desirable
tropical and semitropical trees are not more extensively utilized by
American fruit growers in such localities as are suitable for their
profitable adoption. One of the errors to be avoided in this connec-
tion is a slavish imitation of fruit-growing methods in the Tropics
themselves, where as a rule the lines of least resistance are followed;
for example, the lazy methods of seed propagation instead of more
laborious though generally more profitable schemes involving care-
ful selection of stock and its budding, grafting, fertilizing, regular
pruning, and replanting. There is, of course, room to speak of only
a few of these attractive and desirable fruits but little known in
North America.
The sapodilla plum (Achras sapota)—in India sometimes im-
properly calied mangosteen—or noseberry is a medium-sized (20
to 30 foot) tree with shiny, dark green leathery leaves, originally
from tropical America but cultivated throughout India. An enthu-
siastic naturalist says of this russet applelike fruit (made up when
ripe of a mass of soft, brownish pulp holding a number of easily
separated large black seeds), “a more luscious, cool, and agreeable
fruit is not to be met with in any country in the world.” The
sapodilla thrives up to 3,000 feet and usually bears two crops a year.
The papaya, pawpaw, or tree-melon (Carica papaya) is a small,
fast-growing, branchless, herbaceous tree, from 15 to 20 feet high,
widely cultivated throughout India. It bears a crown of long and
322 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
large palmate leaves at whose base the delicious, juicy “ melons ”
are produced. These green-colored fruits are ovoid or round, 8 to
14 inches in length, 4 to 6 inches in diameter, and weigh from 5
to 10 pounds. One of the remarkable virtues of the tropical pawpaw
is that it is in season the year round. Macmillan says of it:
The fruit has a central cavity, to the walls of which the olive-colored seeds
are attached, usually in great abundance, but sometimes entirely absent. The
succulent flesh is of a pinkish or orange tint, very refreshing and agreeable
to the taste, especially on first acquaintance. It is generally esteemed as a
table fruit, and is considered an aid to digestion. Some people prefer to
eat it with a little sugar and fresh lemon or lime juice. It may also be made
into jam or sauce, and in the unripe state may be pickled, or boiled and used
as a vegetable. The seeds have a flavor like that of water cress. Papaine,
a digestive enzyme, valued in medicine and in the preparation of chewing gum,
ete., is obtained from the white, thin latex or juice.
The mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) originated in the Malay
States, but is now generally cultivated in India and Ceylon. ‘This
is one of the most delicate fruits of the Tropics and I enthusiastically
indorse the claim that it partakes of the combined flavor of the straw-
berry and the grape. The tree is of small size and slow growth;
the leaves large and leathery. The globular, purple-brown, smooth
fruit looks like a small apple whose white, melting pulp surrounds
several large seeds, the whole contained in a thick, inedible covering.
This fruit is rather expensive, is regarded as a great delicacy, and
is generally in season from May to July. Its cultivation (usually
by seed) ought to be attempted as a delicious novelty in semitropical
America.
The sugar-apple or sweet-sop (Anona sguamosa) deserves men-
tion as a candidate for domestic adoption in the warmer climates of
North America. It originated in South America, where it is exten-
sively cultivated, although little known north of the Mexican border.
The tree, a small species, thrives in any ordinary, well-drained soil
up to 3,500 feet and its fruit, maturing twice a year, generally in
October and April, is the size and shape of a large apple whose yel-
iowish-white, scaly or tubercular rind incloses a sweet, granular,
custardlike pulp. There is also a purplish colored variety found in
the West Indies.
It is passing strange that with so many varieties found in all
tropical countries and probably suitable for domestication in most
temperate climates that the useful mango is not more generally culti-
vated. The commonest species in India, where it is indigenous, is
Mangifera indica, a large, quick-growing and wide-spreading tree
whose panicles of scented, greenish-white flowers appear in January
to March, the fruit in April to June thereafter. Some trees bear two
crops a year. The ovoid fruit, flattened, with a distinct beck or
projection at the apex, may weigh 2 pounds or more, but the usual
NORTH INDIA—WOOD eae
weight is about 6 or 7 ounces. It has a tough, yellowish-red or
greenish rind inclosing the adherent flesh, which has a peculiar but
pleasant aromatic taste. Inferior fruit may be tough, with a tur-
pentine flavor. The single seed or “stone,” to which the slippery
pulp adheres very closely, is quite large. These characteristics make
it a somewhat difficult task, until one has learned the art, to consume
a ripe mango in public and at the same time preserve good table
manners.
Macmillan remarks:
The mango is the fruit par excellence of India, where it has been cultivated
from time immemorial. Here it may be considered an article of food as well as
dessert, whilst it also enters largely in the preparation of chutneys and
preserves. The tree thrives from sea level to about 3,000 feet or higher. A
hot and rather dry climate, and a rich, deep, well-drained soil suit it best.
The ground should be irrigated during prolonged drought, especially if the
trees are setting fruit, also manured once a year, and mulched in dry weather.
Pruning consists in thinning out superfluous or sickly branches; root pruning
is sometimes applied with advantage to trees which become unfruitful, owing
to their running too much into wood and leaf, the operation being performed
by making a deep trench around the tree at a few feet from the stem and cut-
ting clean all roots met with. Shade is not necessary, except when the plants
are young. Propagation is best by grafting on seedling stocks of a hardy
vigorous variety, or by in-arching or layering.
The largest, best-flavored, and most desirable varieties for general
consumption that I have seen in north India come from Bengal, but
the Indian mango has as many variants in size, flavor, color, and
other qualities as the apple. It might well form a valuable and
welcome addition to our supply of edible fruits.
There are many other tropical fruits awaiting domestication in
more temperate climates which this short essay must ignore; I shall
drop the subject with a brief mention of two species, both belonging
to the luscious Anonacéae.
Number one, to be found in most tropical countries, I first tasted
in British Guiana—the custard-apple, sometimes called bullock’s
heart (Anona reticulata). It is a small, bushy tree, found generally
in low elevations, with a large kcownish-red, round or heart-shaped
fruit that contains several good-sized dark-brown seeds mixed with
a sweet edible pulp. The latter resembles and tastes much like an
agreeable custard, although the Indian natives have a superstitious
belief that continued indulgence in it causes leprosy.
Second, the cherimoyer (Anona cherimolia). This species is now
quite common in India and the Far East, a small tree introduced
from Peru. The fruit is large, oblong, cordate or round, from 3 to 5
inches in diameter, covered with small pits and weighing from 2 to
4 pounds. It stands transportation very well and seems especi-
ally fitted for cultivation in California, Florida and other semi-
149571—33——22
324 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
tropical States of the Union. Many authorities rank the cherimoyer
with the pineapple and the mangosteen, and believe it to be far
superior to its near relative, the Anona reticulata, which it most re-
sembles. There are several cultivated races of this custard-apple,
among them the quotemoyer and atemoyer, that differ from A. cheri-
molia chiefly in size and shape.
A subtropical fruit richly deserving of extensive cultivation in
the United States is the passion fruit or sweet-cup, from Passiflora
edulis. Originally from southern Brazil the passion flower has
gradually spread over the tropical world, being met with frequently
in Indian gardens and growing wild in the jungle. It is a peren-
nial climber, flourishing at all elevations up to 5,000 feet. The
fruit, of the shape and size of a hen’s egg, is purple when ripe,
the skin afterwards shrinking, like our wild perisimmon. It con-
tains in its hollow center a quantity of fragrant, juicy, sweet pulp
surrounding a number of small seeds. It bears transportation well,
and its adoption as an edible fruit should be a domestic and com-
mercial success. A delicious drink may be made from the soft parts
by beating them up with water, a pinch of soda bicarbonate and
sugar. This plant should be trained over a sheltered trellis or fence
and grown in rich and moist humous soil. The appearance of the
beautiful flower is said to recall the crucifixion—hence the name.
Although there is at my disposal not sufficient space even for a
list of Himalayan birds (100 of them are figured in the first of the
famous folios of John Gould, entitled “A Century of Birds from
the Himalaya Mountains”), I can not pass by a few of these at-
tractive species, all of them (or their close relatives) to be found
throughout India.
Molyneux noticed among the birds of north India golden orioles,
wagtails (white and yellow), kingfishers, herons, water-robins, bunt-
ings, gray tits, wren warblers, paradise flycatchers, bulbuls, thrushes,
redstarts, pigeons, doves, and shrikes. He observed that the
first golden oriole appeared on the 26th April—the same date as that on which it
arrived the year before. Golden orioles have a glorious deep, liquid, flutelike
note which thrills through the whole garden. ‘Two or three pairs always settle
there, and all day long their brilliant yellow plumage is seen flashing from
tree to tree. Three days later another brilliant visitant appears, the paradise
flycatcher. He has not the beautiful note of the golden oriole, nor such
striking plumage. But he has exceedingly graceful form and movements. He
has a very long, wavy, ribbony tail, like a paradise bird, and the two or three
pairs of them which yearly settle in the garden may be seen at any hour
undulating through the foliage or darting swiftly cut to catch their prey.
It may be added to these observations that it is the black-naped
oriole (Oriolus indicus indicus) that is seen in the Indian northwest,
the black-headed variety (OQ. luteolus luteolus) being rarely found
in that locality, although it is common enough throughout the rest
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Wood PLATE 1
A VIEW OF THE FAMOUS SHALIMAR GARDENS, KASHMIR, WITH THE MAHA-DEVv
IN THE DISTANCE
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Wood PLATE 2
1. A VIEW IN THE FAMOUS SHALIMAR GARDENS, KASHMIR
2. THE CHENAR TREES IN THE GARDENS OF THE NISHAT BAGH, DAL LAKE,
KASHMIR
NORTH INDIA—WoopD 325
of the Continent. The beautiful mixture of deep black and bright
yellow in the plumage and the rich notes of their song render both
species conspicuous as well as charming attractions in forest and
garden.
It may be added to Molyneux’s notes regarding the paradise fly-
catcher (Z'erpsephone paradisi paradisi) that the species is one of
the most remarkable birds of the Himalayas; indeed of all India.
The females and young birds (and males until their second summer)
have glossy blue black as the predominating color of the head and
upper parts. This gradually runs into ashy brown on the breast and
to white on the abdomen. The tail is about 414 inches long. In his
second year the cock, whose average length is 18 inches, is almost
transformed. He becomes more glossy black than before and the
two central feathers of his tail grow to a length of 12 inches or
more. In the fourth year the whole head, neck, and crest become
a deeper metallic black, while the remainder of the body plumage,
including all the tail feathers, is distinctly white; in fact in his
flight through the jungle one sees a wonderful black-headed white
bird with a long white tail quite unlike his mate or indeed himself
of the year before. There are at least two variants of this conspicu-
ous species found in India and Ceylon.
The hoopoe (Upwpa epops), celebrated in literature from the
earliest times, is not unknown to the people of Europe, having until
recent years made its appearance as far west as the British Isles
where on several occasions it has nested and bred. Doubtless this
beautiful bird might have established residence there had it not been
shot down by barbarians as soon as seen. The hoopoe is about 12
inches in length, with a long slender bill slightly curving from
base to tip and a large, conspicuous crest capable of being erected
or folded at will. Of its variegated plumage it may be said that the
head and neck are golden buff, the broad-feathered erectile crest
being tipped with black and barred near the terminals with yel-
lowish. The upper back is reddish; the flight feathers are black
broadly crossed with white. The long square tail is black with
a marked white chevron. This combination of form and color pro-
duces markings that render the bird conspicuous even at a consider-
able distance.
I have had many opportunities of observing the Indian hoopoe at
close range; for a couple of months several pairs were my frequent
companions at a game of golf on the links at Srinigar. They were
quite tame and kept only a few yards out of range of golf balls.
As my drives and other shots were not long, I had many opportuni-
ties of making notes of their feeding methods (there were numerous
insects to be had for the catching), the manner of raising and lower-
ing their remarkable crests, their disputes, love making, ete.
326 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Although it is much commoner in the Himalayas than in southern
India or Ceylon, it happened that I had in the latter country my
first and several subsequent visits with that most beautiful of the
smaller Asiatic birds of prey, the Indian peregrine falcon. I was
one day collecting specimens of small birds near the famous Sigiriya
Rock in the wilds of central Ceylon when like a bolt from the blue
the bird that I was hunting was snatched from before my very
eyes by a little hawk that I had seen a short time before flying about
in the neighborhood. In a minute or two he (or she) reached
the security of a near-by cliff with the body of what should have
been my bird. For several days I had ample opportunity of study-
ing this pretty peregrine falcon (alco peregrinus peregrinator) ,
called in the vernacular the shahin (or shaheen). As usual with
birds of prey, the female is larger than the male, in the former
case nearly 18 inches long; wing, 13.50 inches. The head and nape
are jet black and the under parts from chest to tail coverts a deep,
rich brown. The mandibles are slate blue; cere and periorbital
skin and legs yellow; iris dark brown. The shahin is a shy and
rather rare bird, difficult of approach, frequenting ledges of high
cliffs and feeding exclusively on relatively large quarry, such as
pigeons, swifts, swallows, and parrakeets. Its swoop is as swift,
bold, and sure as that of the larger peregrines. The shahin is
famed in the literature of sport, its praises and exploits as a brave,
courageous, and beautiful “ bird of chase ” being sung and depicted
in many works on falconry.
I wish it were possible for me to describe some of my favorite
Indian babblers—a numerous subfamily (Zémaliinae) well known
in the Kast. (Parenthetically, this group does not deserve its trivial
name of “babblers.”) One species is well known under the ver-
nacular name of the seven sisters (Z’wrdoides griseus striatus). ‘This
synonym is derived from the habit of going about in little groups
of from five to seven individuals, probably all members of the same
family. The “sisters ” are tame, slow-moving, grayish-brown birds,
about 10 inches long, with white irides and yellowish eyelids, that
love to move about in cultivated localities or in the near-by jungle.
The vernacular name of Pomatorhinus melanurus Blyth is the
scimitar-billed babbler, derived from its long curved bill. It differs
in many characters from other species of the subfamily, and is
rarely found outside the Himalayan Range, although a subspecies,
Pomatorhinus horsfieldii melanurus, is not uncommon in Ceylon.
it is a shy, forest race and, like its northern relative, is usually
found in pairs. The north Indian variety is rather uniformly dark
brown with a whitish throat and a plainly marked white superciliary
streak from nape to bill, and is 814 inches long. The curved mandi-
bles measure nearly 2 inches in length.
A DECADE OF BIRD BANDING IN AMERICA: A REVIEW
By FReprriIck C. LINCOLN
Biologist, United States Biological Survey
[With 5 plates]
From its inception in 1885, the study of North American birds by
the Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agricul-
ture has continued to be a major activity of this bureau. The distri-
bution, migration, and economic status of birds have claimed the
attention of its specialists for nearly 50 years, and the leadership of
the bureau in these fields of research continues to be demanded.
Since practically every method advocated for the development of
new information has been thoroughly tested by the bureau, it is not
surprising to find that, with the active cooperation of Canadian
officials, it is directing one of the greatest studies of avian life ever
attempted, namely, that conducted through a continental system of
cooperative, volunteer, bird-banding stations.
In the Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1927, under the
title “ Bird Banding in America” (pp. 831-354, 1928), the author
presented a historical sketch and account of the development of the
work during the preceding five years. Another 5-year period has
now elapsed, and in concluding this full decade of intensive effort,
it is fitting, in retrospect, to view the accomplshments.
Any new field of research is usually divisible into three periods:
First, experimentation, when methods are developed; second, data
accumulation ; and third, interpretation and report. Properly speak-
ing, none of these has an ending, as the perfection of technique and
the testing of new methods and refinements continue indefinitely, as
may also the collection of usable data. A starting point for the
third period is, however, dependent wholly upon the successful prose-
cution of the other two, as obviously, no interpretation can be pre-
pared until sufficient material has been obtained to permit proper
evaluation. The banding work, as applied to North American birds,
has only within the last few years entered this third period. During
the 10 years many reports of more or less fundamental importance
have been issued, but the data applicable to the larger ornithological
327
328 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
problems have only recently accumulated in adequate quantity, even
for those species which from the beginning have received most
attention.
As a means of illustrating the growth of the project—which reflects
also the great interest in this means of investigation that has de-
veloped among the bird students of the continent—an examination
of Table 1, showing the gross results, will be of interest. The fiscal
years are those of the Federal Government, that is, beginning July 1
and ending June 30.
TABLE 1.—Progress of bird banding in America
Number | Number | Number Number | Number | Number
Fiscal year of coop- | of birds of re- Fiseal year of coop- | of birds of re-
erators | banded turns ! erators | banded | turns!
TOD) ettem = Se pe 135 2 Ssoul ls eee 1928 oso oo oeen ene 21, 400 127, 105 7, 222
122-22 os Spr es et 490 5, 940 VAD SEO 29E SE See ee eee 21, 500 133, 931 28, 500
1a e Ges eee ee oes 851 25, 068 668" ||GL9S0eetat Sea eee 21, 750 182, 263 2 10, 000
OVA S ee ee 890 40, 432 T9245) |) LOSI Tey ea tee be ee 1, 869 169, 279 12, 329
1925) se ee ee 1, 100 64, 253 Sie bean | ho th pees a 1, 976 212, 146 311, 789
1OQGE Soe e te ee 1, 134 68, 418 SOO | |]
190 (Beste ee 1, 296 91, $48 4,445 7 Grandstoval&s|22s-see=— 1, 123, 528 63, 564
1 As applied to the bird-banding work a‘‘return’’ is the record of a banded bird retrapped from the same
or any other station during or following the succeeding migration period, and also banded birds that are
killed, either accidentally or otherwise, regardless of the elapsed time since they were banded.
2 Approximate. ; : ; A,
3 The reduced number of return records for}the fiscal year 1932 isexplained by the reduction of the shooting
season for waterfowl from 3 months to 1 month in the fall of 1931.
When the work was started it was natural that those species to
be banded in largest numbers should be the common frequenters of
our dooryards, usually easily captured by the traps and methods
then known. The results of the pioneer work of Dr. S. Prentiss
Baldwin (1919) involved the use of traps originally developed by
the Biological Survey for the control of English sparrows. His
report became the first textbook and the foundation upon which the
structure of future activities was laid. It was immediately obvious,
however, that with our great and varied avifauna, there existed a
vast field to tax the ingenuity of station operators in devising effi-
cient means for bringing additional species within the scope of the
work. The capture of the ground feeders, which respond readily:
to cereal baits is a comparatively simple matter, but the insect feeders
and particularly those whose field of action is chiefly in the tree tops
presented a much more difficult problem.
The large and interesting family of wood warblers for several
years defied the efforts of station operators to trap them. Many
elaborate traps were worked out and pulled high in the trees by
means of endless ropes and pulieys, while bait items ran a long
gamut, mostly without success. Finally it was discovered that
“live” water, that is, water in a state of motion, had a potent at-
BIRD BANDING—LINCOLN 329
traction for these birds, and would frequently bring them to the
ground (pl. 1 and pl. 2, fig. 1). With this knowledge, progress was
rapid until now many stations are taking them in considerable vari-
ety and number. For example, a report recently received by the
Biological Survey, following the spring migration of 1932, contained
the banding records for 155 warblers of 19 species, while reports
from other points show similar success.
Some of the author’s early work in the field of banding had to
do with the development of a satisfactory trap for ducks. The
traps that had been used by market hunters were known, but gener-
ally these were found to be unsatisfactory for banding work. A
short period of experimentation, however, resulted in the perfection
of a simple trap that gave excellent results when used for mallards,
black ducks, pintails, and other shoal-water species. Success here
was somewhat discounted by the skeptics who openly declared that
it would be a different matter when operations were begun with can-
vasbacks, redheads, scaups, and other deep-water species. It was a
different matter, but already several thousands of these ducks have
been banded (pl. 2, fig. 2, and pl. 3, fig. 1). In fact it is now a
maxim with bird banders that “there is a way to trap everything
if you can only solve the problem,” and “ you can trap any species
for which you can discover an attractive bait.”
The smaller tree climbers, such as the brown creeper and the black
and white warbler, presented another problem. As these birds as-
cend the trunk of a tree it had been noticed that if they met any kind
of an obstruction, they generally flew to another tree. It was found,
however, that if the barrier slanted upward, the birds would continue
to ascend, keeping a short distance away from the obstruction. Upon
the basis of this observation, William I. Lyon, of Waukegan, III.
(1924), worked out a highly successful trap for taking these birds
(pl. 8, fig.2, and pl. 4). A collar of wire netting, tacked to the trunk
of the tree in an ascending spiral, serves to guide the climbing bird
into the trap chamber.
GAME SPECIES—WATERFOWL
From the beginning of the project, the Biological Survey has given
all possible attention to the banding of large numbers of migratory
waterfowl, confidently believing the resulting data would be most
useful in its administration of this important natural resource. Table
2 illustrates in part the success that has attended these efforts. With
the data represented in this table available, valuable contributions
may be made to the problems of conservation. The following sum-
maries are based on studies already made or in progress.
330 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Tapte 2—Banded waterfowl
ee Number | Number : Number | Number
Species banded | of returns Species banded | of returns
Mallarditt tse. Seo ete 40, 369 8,036 || Cinnamon teal._.------------ 562 38
BlackidlicGkss 25 aaa enone 14, 346 DISRSh RS HOVelen=== 2 aes ae ee eee 346 63
Gadiwalliace alae eee see 67 113) ||| Redhead®.; 22225 ---=222— S22 3, 149 545
(iBaldpatessoccess==-e= eae 2, 883 633 || Ring-necked duck-- 2, 083 241
Pintail 2.2 site eS see ee ee 15, 207 2.512)|),Canvasback..---=2- 752 100
Green-winged teal]__---------- 3, 022 408 || Lesser scaup------------ 9, 699 591
Blue-winged teal ------------- 2, 741 332
Migration—Study of the distribution and migration of North
American waterfowl continues to be a major project of the Biolog-
ical Survey, and as will be noted from the data contained in Table 2
the number of banding records applicable to this subject is increas-
ing rapidly.
A detailed investigation of the distribution and migration of the
mallard and the black duck, two of the most important species of
game waterfowl, is now in progress. Several thousand return rec-
ords are at hand, which make it possible not only to present in
full detail the intricate movements that make up the semiannual
movements of these birds but also to portray graphically the way
the flocks sweep across the country. While ornithologists and sports-
men have long understood the existence of migration flyways, along
which birds are more or less concentrated, there has been a tendency
to consider these lines of arterial traffic as narrow lanes, rather than
as broad boulevards. The banding records show the general routes
followed and also their approximate widths. From a study of these
data a new type of migration map (fig. 1) has been devised to illus-
trate the advance and spread across the country of the ducks from
any particular breeding or concentration area. Several maps of this
type will show the movement of a species from different areas, and
when these are superimposed on each other the resulting map should
present an easily understood picture of the entire migratory flight
for that species.
As will be seen from the map (fig. 1), ducks banded in the Prairie
Provinces of Canada, in the autumn move both southeast and south-
west. In fact, the great flocks of canvasbacks and redheads that
winter on the Atlantic coast come chiefly from the interior breeding
ground.
The banding work early showed that during the migratory season
there is very little interchange of waterfowl between the eastern
and the western halves of the country within the United States, even
with those species that have a more or less general continental dis-
tribution. On the breeding grounds in central Canada the eastern
and western ducks intermingle freely, but when the time comes for
é
BIRD BANDING-——LINCOLN 331
migration they separate and each group adheres to its ancient fly-
ways. The proof of this lies in the fact that very few ducks banded
in the United States east of the one hundredth meridian (central
North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, western Kansas, and
central Texas) are killed west of this line while in the United States,
and vice versa.
B-4765-M
Ficgurn 1.—The autumn migration of mallards from Alberta. Each large spot indi-
eates the point of recovery of a banded duck while the shading shows the relative
density of the flight in the different regions
The significance of this discovery will be more readily understood
by reflecting upon the present condition of our wild waterfowl. Dur-
ing recent years drought conditions, disease, overshooting, and other
unfavorable factors have been disastrous to these birds, chiefly those
inhabiting the western part of the country. Some species (notably
the diving ducks) that visit the eastern district have also been seri-
332 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
ously reduced, while others, such as the mallard and the pintail, that
frequent the eastern plains region, the Mississippi Valley, and the
Atlantic coast, have not been so much affected. It is easy to conceive
that these conditions might become so acute that a complete cessa-
tion of wildfowl hunting would be imperative all through the West;
possibly important species of migratory game birds might be vir-
tually extirpated over vast areas in this part of the country, and at
the same time be fairly abundant east of the one hundredth meridian.
The banding records indicate that should such a disaster overtake
these birds, those that migrate through and winter in the East would
be very slow to overflow and repopulate the devastated areas in the
West even though a complete recovery of natural habitat conditions
might be achieved.
There are, of course, very well-defined northwest by southeast
flights of ducks, best illustrated by considering the line of migration
previously mentioned and which is followed by redheads and can-
vasbacks in reaching the Atlantic coast from their breeding grounds
in central Canada. These birds follow the general line of the Great
Lakes and thence overland to Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. Such
flights are not to be confused with the more nearly north and south
routes of the interior.
Nevertheless, occasionally ducks banded at eastern stations are
recovered subsequently at points in the West as the following cases
will illustrate: A mallard (231104) banded at Browning, IL, on
November 30, 1922, was killed near Sacramento, Calif., on December
24, 1923; a blue-winged teal (823756) banded at Lake Scugog, in
southern Ontario, on September 24, 1925, was recovered in San Fran-
cisco Bay, Calif., on December 12, 1926; a pintail (367029) banded at
Ellinwood, Kans., on March 4, 1925, was retaken in Butte County,
Calif., on December 19, 1925; a greater scaup (204206) banded at
Union Springs on Cayuga Lake, N. Y., on February 27, 19238, was
killed at Big Lake, Wash., on December 7, 1927; and a lesser scaup
(322327) banded at Oakley, S. C., on March 6, 1925, was recovered
in Berkeley County, Calif., on January 13, 1926.
State dispersal of ducks—In those States so fortunate as to have
abundant waterfowl there are always centers of abundance, that is,
areas of great importance to these birds as breeding grounds in
summer or as feeding and resting grounds in winter. During the
past 10 years many of these areas have supported active waterfowl-
banding stations among which may be mentioned Lake Merritt, at
Oakland, Calif., Lake Malheur, Oreg.; the National Bison Range,
western Montana; the Bear River Marshes, at Great Salt Lake, Utah;
Dawson, N. Dak.; the Cheyenne bottoms, Kansas; the marshes of the
Illinois River, central Illinois; Cuivre Island and Portage des Sioux,
BIRD BANDING—LINCOLN Sa
Mo.; Avery Island and the Paul J. Rainey Wild Life Refuge, La.;
Waco, Tex.; Green Bay and the Moon Lake Wild Life Refuge, Wis. ;
Munuskong State Park and the Kellogg Bird Sanctuary, Mich.;
Rochester and Long Island, N. Y.; Bar Harbor, Me.; Cape Cod,
Mass.; the coastal marshes of South Carolina; and the lakes of south-
ern Georgia. In Canada important stations have operated at Lac
Ste. Anne and Leduc, Alberta; Muscow and Yorkton, Saskatchewan ;
and Kingsville and Lake Scugog, Ontario.
Sportsmen and conservation officials are keenly interested in know-
ing the dispersal of the ducks that concentrate at one season or
another in these areas. Also, such information is highly practical
from the viewpoint of game administration, in indicating the regions
that may require special measures for their protection, such as the
establishment of refuges. For example, during the time that the
act which created the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah
was pending in Congress, some opposition developed from a group
of California sportsmen who contended that the number of hunters
concerned with this area was too small to justify expenditure of
the funds that were contemplated. The records of ducks banded
in these great marshes showed conclusively that the big flights of
birds to California came through or from this section. When the
data were shown on a map and made puplic, opposition quickly sub-
sided. Similarly a map showing the dispersal of ducks banded in
the Cheyenne Bottoms, Kans. (fig. 2), played an important part
in the establishment of a Federal migratory-bird refuge at this point.
Calculating waterfowl abundance-—A major problem of sports-
men, naturalists, and conservation officials is the effect upon the
supply of waterfowl of the annual kill by hunters. It is important
to know whether the sportsman is merely harvesting the increase
or whether he is also cutting into the breeding stock necessary for
the perpetuation in adequate numbers of the different species. The
many factors involved make the solution of this problem extremely
difficult, and it will be apparent that the mere opinion of any single
observer or group of observers can be accorded little weight unless
it is known that all pertinent data have been taken into considera-
tion. Nevertheless, it is believed that the most important factors
may be calculated or at least estimated with accuracy sufficient for
practical purposes. If this be true, then it appears that data from
banded ducks will offer a reliable method for computing the annual
fluctuation in the abundance of these birds. The basis of this belief
is the constant relation that seems to exist between the number of
ducks banded and the number of these killed during the first suc-
ceeding hunting season.
3304 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Briefly stated, the solution of this part of the problem may be
found in the following postulate: Given a fairly accurate statement
of the number of wild ducks killed in North America in any one sea-
son, the total number of ducks present on the continent for that
Figur 2.—The dispersal of banded ducks from the Cheyenne Bottoms, Kans.
season may be estimated by a percentage computation based upon
the ratio that the total number of banded ducks killed during their
first season as band carriers, has to the total number banded. (Cf.
Lincoln, 1930.)
BIRD BANDING—LINCOLN 335
TABLE 3.—Percentages of returns throughout the country of banded ducks during
the shooting season immediately following their banding, 1920-1926
eed Number | Number] Percent- Vienir Number | Number | Percent-
banded |ofreturns age banded jofreturns age
itt?) ee 238 31 13208 4 PS1O25. 3 es ee 1, 795 214 11. 92
NODES “ea ea 382 52 LS OIG 268 ee ee» 4, 891 444 9. 08
Cp PRS eS aes eee 3, 774 572 15. 16 ————_— |__|
NODS ewe ee ee 4,103 438 10. 68 Total or average__ 17, 449 2, 083 11. 94
ODAN Soe om 2, 266 332 14. 65
Table 3 shows this relationship and the percentages based on the
material available after seven years’ work. The average of about
12 per cent is slightly increased when the results from the different
banding stations are considered separately, the average first-season
recoveries being between 12 and 13 per cent. Twelve per cent, how-
ever, is very close to a general average and may be accepted as a
basis for computation, particularly when it is remembered that we
are dealing with a problem in which the units are to be shown in
millions. Disregarding other factors (which are, however, of de-
cided importance), an illustrative case may be assumed as follows:
If in one season, 5,000 ducks are banded and these yield the expected
600 first-season returns, or 12 per cent, and during that same season,
the total kill is determined at 5,000,000, then the waterfowl popula-
tion for that reason was approximately 42,000,000. To assume
further: If during the following season (both seasons of equal
length), the total kill is estimated at 500,000 birds less, then the
total duck population for that year would be about 37,500,000, or
an approximate decrease of 4,500,000 in the continental waterfowl
population.
Such figures naturally should be considered only as approxima-
tions but they would at least have the merit of being based on
factors appearing to have a definite relationship. As the work
continues, additional data are being accumulated so it should be
possible ultimately to arrive at an average percentage in which the
margin of error will be reduced to a negligible quantity.
Sex ratio—It is common knowledge among sportsmen that the
average bag of ducks is likely to contain more males than females.
This, however, is not surprising, since it 1s fairly obvious that in a
mixed flock of both sexes the aim of the shooter would unconsciously
be directed toward the males because of their more striking and con-
spicuous plumage.
But it would seem that the large cage traps used to capture ducks
for banding can not be selective as regards sex. As a matter of fact,
observations of the author on one species, the pintail, indicate the
336 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
females to be less suspicious than males, which are frequently led
into the traps by their consorts. Nevertheless, as early as 1922, while
experimental work to develop a satisfactory duck trap was in prog-
ress a total “catch” of 888 mallards was divided into 248 males
and 140 females, or a ratio of a little less than two to one. Personal
experience since that time in other regions, at other seasons and
with other species has indicated a corresponding preponderance of
males over females. Also, the operators of other waterfowl banding
stations frequently have commented upon the relatively large num-
bers of males that were trapped in proportion to the females.
Generally speaking, all birds are naturally monogamous, so
theoretically it would seem logical to assume a reasonably perfect
numerical equality of the sexes. This condition has been borne out
by investigators who have studied the sex ratio of the domestic fowl.
For example, Darwin worked out the ratio as 48.64 to 51.36 in favor
of the female, while more recently Prof. Raymond Pearl, of Johns
Hopkins University, working on a basis of 22,000 chicks, obtained
a ratio of 48.57 to 51.43 males to females, thus giving almost perfect
confirmation to the pioneer results of Darwin. The apparent situa-
tion among our waterfowl appears, therefore, to warrant serious
study.
As a contribution to the subject the author has made (1932) a sta-
tistical analysis of the banding data for certain species of ducks.
The material available for study consisted of banding records from
about 50 trapping stations located geographically from Maine, Con-
necticut, and South Carolina, west to California and Oregon, and
from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Michigan, south to Georgia,
Louisiana, and Texas. The data represented 10 of the most im-
portant species of game waterfowl and totaled 40,904. This was only
a little more than half of the grand total of banded ducks, but
certain lots of records were considered ineligible for inclusion in the
study for various reasons. Among these were the unknown ability
of some operators to sex their birds, particularly in late summer and
early fall when the plumage of immature birds closely resembles
that of the females. In other words, all data that in any way might
be considered as open to question were excluded from the study.
The proportion of sexes in the total number was 24,411 males to
16,493 females, or about three males for every two females. The
detailed comparison shown by species is well illustrated in Table 4.
The results shown in the gross numbers are similarly borne out
by the records from the individual stations, in some cases the pro-
portion being even greater. For example, of 415 mallards banded
at Dawson, N. Dak., in the autumn of 1926, 309 were males and 106
were females, or a ratio of nearly 3 to 1.
BIRD BANDING—LINCOLN ol.
TABLE 4.—Percentage of males in banded ducks
Percent- Percent-
Species Males | Females| age of Species Males | Females} age of!
males males
mViood: duck. 2-0 --2s.e- 391 367 52 || Lesser scaup---------- 2, 633 1, 444 65
Mallard! 222.2 o oso. 12, 386 9, 572 56 || Blue-winged teal___-_- 765 411 65
Blacks buck =e" - 477 344 58 || Green-winged teal___-- 357 95 79
Raldpaten=: =e. 413 251 62 || Ring-necked duck---- 455 123 79
mintaile = 92-2 ess 6, 308 3, 759 63 _ oo
Ganyvasback---==2 2 == 226 127 64 Total= sane 24, 411 16, 493 59
if
1 In the computation of percentages the figures have been carried to the second decimal, and the remaining
fraction, ifless than 0.5, has been dropped, while if more than 0.5 the next higher unit has been adopted,
It will be observed that in the case of the wood duck, there is a
more normal representation of what might be properly expected as
a sex ratio. As this handsome bird for 16 years has enjoyed com-
parative immunity from shooting, the conclusion seems to be fairly
well justified that overshooting has been responsible for the dispro-
portionate ratios in the other species. Possibly this is the correct
solution, but further study of the problem will be required before
the full significance of the data will be apparent. Nevertheless,
despite the seeming truth of the hypothesis that more males than
females are killed by hunters, it appears obvious the drakes now
outnumber the hens in a proportion that does not auger well for
the successful rearing of broods of ducklings.
NONGAME SPECIES
Banding problems dealing with nongame species, and which en-
gage the attention of the Washington staff of the Biological Survey,
relate almost entirely to distribution and migration. Contributions
to this subject by individual station operators obviously can have
only local significance for the reason that interpretation of the data
assembled from points over the entire hemisphere can be satisfac-
torily made only at the central office. There are, however, exceptions,
as occasionally a station operator will obtain an adequate quantity
of data from his own birds, or he may be able to coordinate the
activities of several widely scattered stations and so be placed in
possession of sufficient material to warrant interpretation. The
following examples, dealing with the evening grosbeak and the
Harris sparrow, illustrate the case in point.
East and west migration—The general (and usually correct)
conception of bird migration is of a north and south movement.
In addition, for many years we have been familiar with what is
known as “ vertical migration ” whereby mountain-dwelling species
obtain latitudinal changes in habitat by the simple expedient of
moving down the mountain sides in the autumn and back again in
338 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
the spring. It now appears, however, that some birds make east
and west trips with the same regularity of others in their journeys
between the North and the South. The evening grosbeak (Hesperi-
phona vespertina) is an excellent example.
This large finch breeds almost entirely in the Canadian Zone, and
while it is a notorious wanderer, it is detected only occasionally as
far south as Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland. At one banding sta-
tion, operated at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., it is plentiful, and many
are banded each year. From these, several return records are avail-
able, the points of recovery extending west to Karlstad, Minn., and
east to eastern Massachusetts and Connecticut (Magee, 1930). Alto-
gether some 9 or 10 records indicate the remarkable “ sidewise ”
movement of this bird. In addition to those banded at the Michi-
gan station and recovered at eastern and western points, one was
there recaptured which had been banded at Hanover, N. H.
Banding records for other species indicate that east and west
movements may not be as unusual as has been believed.
A coot (A515245), banded at Green Bay, Wis., on October 22,
1930, was killed at Essex, Conn., on November 5, 1930.
A duck hawk (A701032), banded at Mohonk Lake, N. Y., on June
18, 1929, was recaptured at Grand Island, Nebr., on September 26,
1929.
A chimney swift (A87826), banded at Thomasville, Ga., on Oc-
tober 3, 1925, was captured at Claremore, Okla., on June 6, 1928, and
again on May 8, 1929.
A blue jay (A346309), banded at Hubbard Woods, Ill., on May
13, 1930, was recovered at Bluevale, Ontario, on February 24, 1931.
A purple finch (A124752), banded at Katonah, N. Y., on April
23, 1930, and another (C69545), banded at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.,
on August 17, 1930, were retrapped together at Milton, Mass., on
February 14, 1931.
Another purple finch (A54292), banded at Cohasset, Mass., on
January 30, 1927, was retrapped at Pickford, Mich., on March 10,
1929.
A junco (84691), banded at Crystal Bay, Minn., on October 13,
1923, was retrapped at Demarest, N. J., on January 9, 1926.
Another junco (A61943), banded at Paoli, Pa., on November 6,
1927, was retrapped at Jamestown, N. Dak., on April 23, 1928.
Harris sparrow.—An important contribution to our knoweldge of
this little-known species has been made by Swenk and Stevens (1929).
The junior author, himself the operator of one of the larger band-
ing stations, established contact with six other stations where Harris
sparrows were common and so added greatly to the data for his
study. The records from one station (Fairbury, Nebr.) showed a
BIRD BANDING—LINCOLN 339
remarkably large percentage of these birds returning to winter in
the same place. For example, of 13 birds banded in February, 6, or
46.1 per cent, returned the following year. Data obtained at Fargo,
N. Dak., indicated that the southward migration of the adults is more
rapid than that of the immatures. In 1928, 38 adults stayed in the
vicinity of the banding station for an average of only 2.4 days, while
the immature birds made stop-overs averaging 8.7 days.
The return to exact winter quarters of certain birds has been dem-
onstrated on several occasions, perhaps the best example being a
small group of banded white-throated sparrows that returned year
after year to a patch of ornamental shrubbery on a plantation at
Thomasville, Ga. (Cf. Baldwin, 1922.) Other stations have had
similar experience with juncos, chipping sparrows, and other finches.
This habit appears to be fairly well established for several birds,
but it also appears that all individuals may not make the same stops
while on their migratory journeys. The best evidence of this comes
from a banding station at Waukegan, Ill., where more than 6,000
white-throated sparrows have been banded. A few return records
for these birds have been reported from other points, but up to the
present time (July, 1932) the operator of this station has not recap-
tured in a successive season a single banded white-throat.
Studies at banding stations—Among the published reports of the
past few years there are intimate studies dealing with local move-
ments and other habits of certain birds, some of which are usually
considered to be more or less resident in their respective areas. It
is in investigations of this kind that the individual station operator
comes “into his own,” as it is practical for him to work out his
entire problem without the necessity for access to data from other
points. To be sure, before the results obtained in one area can be
considered as being applicable to the species over its entire range,
a certain amount of repetition must take place in other sections, but
this in no way militates against the completion by a single worker of
a definite piece of research.
The species that have been accorded this treatment include the
song sparrow, the house wren, the white-breasted nuthatch, the
tufted titmouse, and the chickadee. In some of these studies the
permanent registration of the numbered aluminum band has been
supplemented by second bands of colored celluloid which enabled the
investigator to keep individual birds under more or less continuous
observation, without the necessity for frequent retrapping.
Dr. Wilbur K. Butts (1930 and 1931), after much experimental
work involving the use of stains, dyes, and enamels, devised a method
for the manufacture of small celluloid bands. These are now stocked
regularly by the Biological Survey. Doctor Butts conducted an
149571—33——23
340 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
exhaustive inquiry into the local movements of the chickadee (Pen-
thestes atricapillus) and the white-breasted nuthatch (S%tta caro-
linensis) on the Cornell University campus and the nearby Louis
Agassiz Fuertes Bird Sanctuary. The study was begun in the
autumn of 1924 and continued (with interruptions of a few months
at a time) to 1929. During this period practically all of the chicka-
dees and nuthatches within the area were banded both with a num-
bered aluminum band and a colored celluloid band.
It was found that during the winter season there were four or
five times as many chickadees present as during the breeding season,
which possibly indicates a migration of certain individuals, although
the breeding birds of the area were all, or nearly all, permanent
residents. The influx of birds from other regions occurred between
August and January 1, while most of these transients left in March
and April. Chickadees are known to wander in small flocks, but
it was ascertained that these were not, as might be otherwise ex-
pected, family parties. Nevertheless, the flocks behaved as semi-
permanent units and had definite restricted feeding territories of
from 40 to 70 acres. When nesting it was found that the birds
ranged about 100 yards from the nest, although most of the food
was obtained much nearer. When one member of a mated pair
suffered an accident or disappeared for any reason, the survivor
frequently obtained a new mate, and it was determined that the
fact of an adult raising a brood of young could not be accepted as
prima facie evidence that it was caring for its own offspring. In
this species at least, the young finally disperse widely from the
nest.
In the case of the nuthatch Doctor Butts found that there was no
evidence of migration in the region of Ithaca, N. Y., and that the
birds he studied were permanent residents. These birds ranged in
both summer and winter over areas approximately equal in size, but
they showed no hesitation in changing the scene of their opera-
tions in the different seasons. In addition to mated pairs which have
established their territories, there are usually a number of wander-
ing unmated birds which may take the place of one member of a
pair if for any reason it disappears. It was also found that the
parents had little difficulty in finding ample food for their broods
close to the nests and Doctor Butts concluded that feeding the young
is not as severe a task as it is commonly supposed to be.
A somewhat similar study has been made of the tufted titmouse
(Baeolophus bicolor) by Mrs. Mabel Gillespie (1930). Field ob-
servations, supplemented by banding data over a period of 12 years
in the vicinity of Glenolden, Pa., resulted in an important accumula-
tion of data. In recent years the possible influence of the sun-spot
BIRD BANDING—LINCOLN 341
cycle on population density and scarcity among various forms of
life has received much attention from some biologists. According to
the theory of Julian Huxley (1927) meteorological conditions of the
earth which are caused periodically by sun-spot maxima result in
conditions favorable for increased productivity of plant life, and,
therefore, of herbivorous animals and their predators. Hpidemic
disease then causes numerical reduction to the minimum when the
cycle is repeated. It has been found that the average length of
this cycle is either a little more than 11 years, or else is one-third of
this, and Mrs. Gillespie finds in her data a striking suggestion of a
4-year cycle for abundance in the tufted titmouse. In the words
of Mrs. Gillespie: “The results of 12 years’ observations show a
tendency toward alternate years of presence and absence about the
banding station or near vicinity; and a peak of population density
every four years, followed by a scarcity of numbers.”
The song sparrow (Melospiza melodia) is not only one of the most
widely distributed of our native birds, but also one of the sweetest
singers. Added to these qualities is its general willingness to as-
sociate with human habitations. Taking advantage of a local con-
centration of this species, Mrs. Margaret Morse Nice (1930, 1931, and
1932) has conducted a most interesting and important investigation
at Columbus, Ohio.
In the region under consideration the song sparrow attempts to
raise three broods, sometimes producing a fourth set of eggs if one
or more nests meet with disaster. During the incubation period the
average routine for the female is between 20 and 30 minutes on the
eggs, alternated with feeding periods of 7 to 9 minutes. There does
not appear to be any set time, however, as either period may be
longer or shorter.
One of the features of this study has been a careful investigation
of the territory requirements and its occupation. In the vicinity of
Columbus it was found that about half of the males are permanent
residents which appear to spend their entire adult lives within the
space of a few acres. These birds might be said to guard their nest-
ing territory throughout the year, although there seems to be no
exhibition of this other than in the breeding season. The other
males and females move southward for the winter, but are likely
to return to their territory of the preceding season, which is then
occupied for six or eight months. In the conduct of its nesting
duties, the song sparrow apparently requires about two-thirds of an
acre and does not usually occupy more during one nesting. In 1931,
however, several banded males that returned to their territories, were
observed to spread out to some extent and include larger areas in
their domains. A reduced number of birds was the apparent answer
342 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
to this move rather than the existence of any special condition that
made additional territory necessary. In no case was a male bird
found mated with his partner of the preceding year.
The song sparrow is a home-lover and an individualist. Mrs.
Nice concludes that it is “not over fond of flocking, even in the
winter, and not of migrating en masse. The same bird may arrive at
very different times in successive years, some of the females come
before some of the males, and some of the adults come later than the
juveniles.”
Baldwin Bird Research Laboratory—Detailed and _ extensive
studies of the life history of the house wren (Tvroglodytes aédon)
(pl. 5) have been intimately associated with the Baldwin Bird
Research Laboratory at Gates Mills, Ohio. Elaborate and highly
technical apparatus has been developed to further the investigations
and it is a fair statement that no other small bird has ever received
the close attention that Doctor Baldwin and his associates have
accorded this species.
Baldwin (1921) had already pointed out that house wrens not
infrequently change mates between their first and second broods
and, while of infrequent occurrence, had indicated that polygamy
was not unknown. ‘The species is unusually abundant in and around
the Chagrin Valley, near which the laboratory is located, and many
wrens have returned year after year to nest in the locality. Literally
hundreds of young have been banded, but strangely enough very
few of these have returned to breed in their natal areas. It is well
known that juvenile mortality is very heavy, ornithologists generally
accepting the theory that on an average each pair of adult passerine
birds will raise but two nestlings to maturity. Nevertheless, since
the different species remain practically numerically constant, it
would seem that there must be a larger percentage of survival of the
young than is indicated by the few return records of yearling birds.
In an effort to answer this question, an intensive study was made
in 1926 and 1927. (Cf. Baldwin and Bowen, 1928.) <A laboratory
assistant was assigned to the task, and during the two seasons the
entire wren population of this large area was under almost constant
observation. Most of the nesting birds were repeatedly trapped and
handled. While a few birds were captured that had been banded
in previous seasons, in almost every instance the record showed that
they were adult at the time of banding. The problem as to what
becomes of the young birds is still one that challenges the efforts
of the investigator.
In a study to determine the relation between the time that the
adult wrens spend at their nesting activities and the time that they
spend in seeking food and rest for themselves, Doctor Baldwin and
BIRD BANDING—LINCOLN 343
his assistants invoked the aid of thermoelectricity. (Cf. Baldwin
and Kendeigh, 1927.) A thermocouple, made of copper and con-
stantan, was installed in the nest, the thin, flexible wire passing just
above the eggs with the junction of the two metals at the middle of
the nest. Wires were carried from the thermocouple to a recording
potentiometer in the laboratory. Here the recording pen rested
on a strip of paper marked in degrees of temperature, and this
paper was rolled past the pen at a constant speed. When the female
was on the nest the thermocouple came in contact with her body,
resulting in an electromotive force sufficient to move the pen in the
potentiometer. In fact, so sensitive was this apparatus that a record
was made on the moving paper every time the bird stood up and
turned around in the nest.
During the summer of 1926 a record some 250 feet in length was
obtained representing 91 days and nights. Four nests of the house
wren and one of the robin received similar attention. As would be
expected with these species the differentiation between the periods
of attentiveness when the bird is actually on its nest, and the periods
of inattentiveness, when feeding or resting, is best developed with
the female, but nevertheless, the same relation applies also to the
male.
In one case a female wren (71653) was found to incubate during
the day for average periods of 14.3 minutes, alternated with 6-min-
ute intervals when she was away feeding. During the incubation
period she spent every night but one in the nest. On this one occa-
sion she left her nest at 8.50 p.m. and did not return until 1.04 the
next morning.
One more example, illustrating further the character of the re-
searches conducted at the Baldwin laboratory, has to do with the
temperature variation in young birds. (Cf. Kendeigh and Baldwin,
1928.) Again the house wren was the subject and mercury ther-
mometers, and the thermocouple were employed to obtain the neces-
sary data.
Among ornithologists it is now a well-known fact that while the
average temperature of adult birds is relatively high there is some
variation in this condition. In fact, differences in body temperature
of 4° or 5° may occur within a very few minutes. Unusual excite-
ment or merely the natural metabolism may be sufficient to effect
these variations. The variable temperature of adult birds does not
seem, however, to be in any way correlated with atmospheric tem-
perature.
In the case of young birds (that is, nestlings), the situation is
different. Their temperature is extremely variable and were they
dependent upon their own resources they would be truly “ cold-
344 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
blooded ” or with a body temperature equal to the surrounding air.
This explains why brooding of newly hatched birds by the parent
is so necessary for their proper development. During its life in the
nest, however, the fledgling evolves an efficient control system so that
when it is ready for separation from parental care its body tempera-
ture is more nearly uniform.
The young bird accordingly may be considered as a cold-blooded
organism that develops into one with warm blood. This fact is of
significance as supporting evidence that the immediate preavian
ancestors were cold-blooded, which, of course, fits in with the modern
view of the reptilian ancestry of birds.
The O. L. Austin Ornithological Research Station.—This station,
located at North Eastham, Cape Cod, Mass., was established as
recently as 1930, but the research program already prepared should
result in important contributions to our knowledge of North Amer-
ican birds. The director, Dr. Oliver L. Austin, sr., has assigned
himself the task of ascertaining causes, symptomatology, and cura-
bility of the many diseases of birds. Already he has published
(1931) a short paper based upon many dissections, from which he
concludes that injuries resulting from their own activities or from
violence from other organisms and forces are the principal causes of
death in birds.
Introduced species—Investigations of the Biological Survey
through the banding method are confined to native birds although
exceptions are made when some special study of an introduced species
is contemplated.
The remarkable increase and spread of the European starling
(Sturnus vulgaris), since its introduction in New York City in
1890 and 1891, has been watched with much apprehension by students
of birds. Because of the obvious potentialities of this bird for good
or bad, the Survey early authorized and urged its cooperators to
band them at every opportunity. As a gross result many thousands
are now wearing numbered bands. Centers of starling banding
activity have been Washington, D. C., and Columbus, Ohio. Dur-
ing the winters of 1927-28 and 1928-29, the author in company with
other Washington ornithologists conducted a banding campaign that
resulted in the marking of more than 4,500 of these birds. The
work was instituted under the direction of E. R. Kalmbach, of
the Biological Survey, who (1932) has described how the banding
operations so discouraged the birds that they have not since resorted
in large numbers to the church towers where so many of their fellows
were ignominiously treated.
About 125 of these birds have since been reported as returns.
Seventy or more of these have been from points less than 20 miles
BIRD BANDING—-LINCOLN 345
from the point of banding, 28 being recaptured during subsequent
breeding seasons. It therefore appears, as Mr. Kalmbach has
pointed out (loc. cit., p. 68), that “something more than 23 per cent
of the wintering starlings of Washington were essentially resident
birds.” Determination of this fact is of much importance in plan-
ning contro] measures against the large winter roosts.
Another contingent apparently has developed or is developing
migratory habits, as many of the Washington birds have been re-
ported from northern points, mostly from Pennsylvania and New
York. Recoveries at Wallingford, Vt., Cape Vincent, N. Y., and
Cornwall and Elgin, Ontario, constitute the most northern points
from which these birds have been recovered.
In subsequent winters a few returns were received from points
as far south of Washington as southeastern Virginia. It is possible
that these represent some of those that had developed the migratory
habit, had nested north of Washington, and had merely gone on past
the Capital when on their autumnal migration. Additional evi-
dence of such a migratory flight is contained in the record of a
starling (A200521) banded November 20, 1928, at Norristown, Pa.
where it was apparently a winter resident, and recovered at Palatka,
Fla., in December, 1930.
Long-range returns——Banded birds recovered at long distances
from the points of banding, are naturally of exceptional interest.
Through the friendly cooperation of correspondents in many regions
these records are increasing rapidly. Particularly is this true of
South and Central American and Caribbean countries, while there
are now three records of American banded birds (Arctic terns)
that were recovered in the Old World.
The migration route of the Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) has
long been one of the unsolved ornithological problems. Its breeding
range is circumpolar, while in winter it has been found south to the
Antarctic Continent. The problem has been to determine the path
followed by those birds that breed in northeastern North America.
Austin (1928) points out that while south of Long Island, N. Y.,
the species is practically unknown on the Atlantic coast of either
North or South America, large numbers of these birds have been
observed during the latter part of August, between Newfoundland
and the Irish coast.
During the summers of 1927 and 1928 Doctor Austin was engaged
in ornithological investigations on the coast of Labrador where he
banded several hundred of these terns. One (548656), banded as a
nestling in Turnevik Bay on July 22, 1927, was found dead near
La Rochelle, Charente-Inferieure, on the west coast of France, on
October 1, 1927. Another (548138), also banded as a chick on July
346 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
23, 1928, was picked up dead on the beach at Margate, 15 miles south-
west of Port Shepstone, Natal, on the east coast of South Africa, on
November 14, 1928. This last is the longest flight on record for any
banded bird as the shortest possible distance from point of banding
to point of recovery is 8,000 miles, while 9,000 miles is a conservative
estimate for the entire flight, considering the course that the bird
must have followed. For a bird not more than three months old, it
is a truly remarkable journey. One other African return record is
available: A tern (A. B. B. A. 1258), banded on July 3, 1913, at
Eastern Ege Rock, Me., was found dead at the village of Ikibiri,
South Nigeria, West Africa, in August, 1917. At the time of band-
ing this bird was identified as the common tern (Sterna hirundo),
but it is now believed that it was the Arctic species which does nest
in small numbers on the New England coast. The chicks of the two
species are much alike and even the adults might be confused.
In the light of these three records it now appears that the route
of the Arctic tern from its breeding grounds in northeastern North
America is eastward across the ocean, probably by way of the Brit-
ish Isles, to the coast of Europe, where, joining forces with those
that breed in the northern part of that continent, they turn south-
ward and follow the coasts of Europe and Africa to their winter
quarters (fig. 3).
As above stated, it is now believed that there is no authentic
record of a banded American common tern (Sterna hirundo) cross-
ing the ocean. Nevertheless, there are many long range returns for
this bird. Colonies in the Great Lakes and on the coast of New
England have been the scene of much banding activity, and more
than 80,000 have been banded. ‘Two have been reported from Puerto
Rico, 3 from eastern Mexico, 1 from the Republic of Haiti, 2 from
the Dominican Republic, 1 from Panama, 7 from the island of
Trinidad off the northern coast of South America, 3 from Vene-
zuela, and 2 from the northeastern coast of Brazil.
A laughing gull (Larus atricilla) (A518811) banded at Muskeget
Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, on July 13, 1980, was killed
January 26, 1931, in Acajutla Bay, Salvador. This bird had not
only flown more than 2,000 miles but it had crossed from the
Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast.
Four Caspian terns (Sterna caspia) banded at their breeding
colonies in northern Lake Michigan, have been reported more than
2,500 miles southeast, at the mouth of the Magdalena River, Colom-
bia, while a fifth was recaptured at San Cristobal, Cuba.
A large colony of black-crowned night herons at Barnstable,
Mass., was visited regularly for several seasons, and more than 2,500
were banded. (Cf. May, 1926.) From this work return records
BIRD BANDING—LINCOLN 347
were obtained from points to the north, west, and south, the most
distant being a bird (283748) recovered on the Island of Jamaica,
A "S
reaps CS
| of
| ee
yO
D
@nBreeding) WT italies [ar oc
A Winter
O Migration
+ Banding Station
X Recovery Point
. 2 = USE. : [ Boze E
FigurRE 3.—Distribution and migration of the Arctic terns of eastern North America.
Solid spots represent breeding colonies, those marked with crosses being banding
localities; the crosses in France and Africa show points of recovery of banded
birds; triangles show winter quarters; arrows indicate migration route as now
understood
some 1,750 miles nearly due south of the point of banding. Another
bird of this species (368306) banded at Indian Head, Sask., on
348 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
June 20, 1925, flew about 2,300 miles southeast to Alvarado, Vera
Cruz, Mexico, where it was killed on November 15, 1925; while a
third (A675440) made a trip of similar length and in the same
direction, from Webster, S. Dak., to a point near Habana, Cuba.
The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) also makes long flights.
Two of these birds banded at Waseca, in southeastern Minnesota,
were recaptured almost due south in Central America. The first
(334487) was taken 1,900 miles distant at El Hule, State of Oaxaca,
southern Mexico, while the other (334402) was killed after a flight
of 2,600 miles to Gatun Lake, Panama. Still a third bird of this
species (204206), banded at Hat Island, in Green Bay, Wis., flew
southeast nearly 1,700 miles to the southern coast of Cuba, its capture
forming the first record for the race in that country.
A long-billed curlew (Wumenius americanus) (531112) banded at
Brigham City, Utah, flew southwest about 800 miles and was recap-
tured in northwestern lower California.
Among the ducks the pintails (Dafila acuta) and blue-winged teals
(Querquedula discors) have made the longest flights. A pintail
(867451) banded at Ellinwood, Kans., flew northwest more than
3,300 miles to the mouth of the Kobuk River, Alaska; another
(227609) banded at Keno, Oreg., in September, was killed 2,800
miles to the southeast, near Belize, British Honduras; two others
(A638860 and A647295), both banded on the same day, one at the
Bear River Marshes in Utah, and the other at Dawson, N. Dak.,
were killed on the same day by the same man at Toluca, near Mexico
City, Mexico. <A blue-winged teal (A510183) banded at Ellinwood,
Kans., flew 1,800 miles southeast to Corocito, Honduras, while
another (531961), banded at the same place, traveled more to the
eastward and was recaptured near Elia, Camaguey, Cuba. One of
these little ducks (863850), banded at Kearney, Nebr., flew southeast
about 2,600 miles to Santa Marta, Colombia, and another (4576),
banded at Lake Scugog in southern Ontario, was recovered after a
flight of about the same length, on the Island of Trinidad, off the
north coast of South America.
Although not a large number of hawks have been banded, they
have yielded several return records of unusual interest. Among
these are a ferruginous rough-leg (Buteo regalis) (A709881),
banded at Rosebua, Alta., and killed 1,700 miles south at Alpine,
Tex.; a duck hawk (Falco peregrinus) (310753), banded at King’s
Point, Yukon Territory, was killed at Duchesne, Utah, more than
2,000 miles south; a red-tailed hawk (Buteo borealis) (655444),
banded at Hepburn, Sask., flew south about 1,800 miles to Flatonia,
Tex.; and a marsh hawk (Circus hudsonius) (A697063), banded at
BIRD BANDING—-LINCOLN 349
Argusville, N. Dak., flew 1,100 miles in a southeasterly direction and
was killed at Guantanamo, Cuba.
The number of small birds recovered after long flights is not so
large, but considering the size of the birds, some of the distances
traveled are none the less remarkable. For example, the family of
sparrows and finches are not usually considered as birds of powerful
flight, but a purple finch (Carpodacus purpureus) (A127258),
banded at Hyde Park, Mass., was recaptured more than 1,400 miles
to the southwest, at Nacogdoches, Tex., and another individual of
this same species (77230), banded at Peterboro, N. H., flew nearly
1,500 miles to Thornton, Tex.
A tree sparrow (Spizella arborea) (88765), banded at Berlin,
Mass., was recovered at Hardin, Tex.; a fox sparrow (Passerella
iliaca) (643516), banded at Rhinebeck, N. Y., on March 18, 1929, was
killed by a cat at Port au Port, Newfoundland, on April 30, 1929;
a chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina) (C79688), banded at North
Eastham, Mass., was recaptured at Grand Crossing, Fla.; a white-
crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) (A1963815), banded at
Woodland, N. Y., was retaken at Moody, Tex.; a snow bunting
(Plectrophenax nivalis) (C98323), banded at McMillan, Mich., on
February 17, 1931, was killed by an Eskimo at Igdlorpait, Juliane-
haab District of southern Greenland, on March 30, 1931; a mourn-
ing dove (Zenatdura macroura) (806053), banded at Fort Riley,
Kans., was killed at Apipilulco, State of Guerrero, Mexico; a catbird
(Dumetella carolinensis) (892781), banded at Schoharie, N. Y., was
recovered at Tela, Honduras; and a robin (Z'urdus migratorius)
(273933), banded at Crystal Bay, Minn., was recaptured at Pachuca,
State of Hidalgo, in southern Mexico.
CONCLUSION
Considering the material now assembled, it is proper to ask: Of
what value are these data? The answer is, that for the first time in
the history of ornithology there exists a mass of definite, precise in-
formation, obtained from living birds, which deals with the compli-
cated movements of the individual birds that go to make up migra-
tion. Previously the study of this subject involved the use of data
that were obviously incomplete, in most cases being little more than
observations of the arrival and departure of the various species in
different localities. The movements of the birds that make up the
flocks could be only surmised, and the guess of one man was as good
as that of another. Second, we are now rapidly accumulating a
wealth of information showing how a bird develops, the transition
of its plumages, its identification with the same or different mates in
350 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
successive seasons, its diseases, food preferences, and many other
subjects that in the past could not be adequately studied or at best
were but imperfectly known.
Not only does bird banding make it possible to make definite con-
tributions to an increase of knowledge, but in some important in-
stances the material is being applied to pertinent administrative
and economic problems relating to our native birds.
LITERATURE CITED
AUSTIN, OLIver L., Sr.
1931. Avian mortality. Bird Banding, vol. 2, pp. 166-169, October.
AUSTIN, OLIVER L., Jr.
1928. Migration routes of the Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea Briinnich).
Bull. Northeastern Bird-Banding Assoc., vol. 4, pp. 121-125,
October.
BALDWIN, S. PRENTISS.
1919. Bird banding by means of systematic trapping. Abstr. Proce. Lin-
naean Soc. New York, No. 31, pp. 28-56.
1921. The marriage relations of the house wren (Troglodytes a. aédon).
The Auk, vol. 88, pp. 237-244, April.
1922. Adventures in bird banding in 1921. The Auk, vol. 39, pp. 210-224,
April.
BALDWIN, S. PRENTISS, and W. WeEDGWwoop Bowe_EN.
1928. Nesting and local distribution of the house wren (T'roglodytes
aédon aédon). The Auk, vol. 45, pp. 186-199, April.
BALDWIN, S. PRENTISS, and S. CHARLES KENDEIGH.
1927. Attentiveness and inattentiveness in the nesting behavior of the
house wren. The Auk, vol. 44, pp. 206-216, April.
Bouttrs, WILBuR K.,
1930 and 1931. A study of the chickadee and white-breasted nuthatch by
means of marked individuals. Bird Banding, vol. 1, pp. 149-168,
vol. 2, pp. 1-26, 59-76.
GILLESPIE, MABEL.
1930. Behavior and local distribution of tufted titmice in winter and
spring. Bird Banding, vol. 1, pp. 118-127, July.
Huxtry, JULIAN.
1927. Mice and men. MHarper’s Monthly Mag., vol. 156, pp. 32-50,
December.
KatMBacn, I. R.
1932. Winter starling roosts of Washington. Wilson Bull. vol. 44, pp.
65-73, June.
KENDEIGH, S. CHARLES, and S. PRENTISS BALDWIN.
1928. Development of temperature control in nestling house wrens. Amer.
Nat., vol. 62, pp. 249-278, May—June.
LINCOLN, FREDERICK C.
1930. Calculating waterfowl abundance on the basis of banding returns.
Cire. No. 118, U. S. Dept. Agr., May.
1932. Do drakes outnumber susies? Amer. Game, vol. 21, pp. 3-4, 16-17,
January—February.
BIRD BANDING—LINCOLN oO
Lyon, Wo. I.
1924. Trapping the tree-climbing birds. Wilson Bull., vol. 31, pp. 99-101,
June.
MaceEr, M. J.
1930. Evening grosbeak recoveries indicating an east-and-west movement.
Bird Banding, vol. 1, pp. 40-41, January.
May, JoHN B.
1926. The results from banding Barnstable black-crowned night herons.
Bull. Northeastern Bird-Banding Assoc., vol. 2, pp. 25-28, April.
Nice, MARGARET MORSE.
1930. The technique of studying nesting song sparrows. Bird Banding,
vol. 1, pp. 177-181, October.
1931. Returns of song sparrows in 1931. Bird Banding, vol. 2, pp. 89-98,
July.
1932. The song sparrow breeding season of 1931. Bird Banding, vol. 3,
pp. 45-50, April.
SwENK, Myron H., and O. A. STEVENS.
1929. The Harris’s sparrow and the study of it by trapping. Wilson
Bull., vol. 41, pp. 129-177, September.
is ‘ a : + = 1 jais Lory
HSE)“ Labs ee ote eee
ery Bee OR,
“yee De Aye peate FEhtp vow
stoatlavety inal deb
Mbiticns ti ae arog
Shatner this folabtere ys Take
siadoonly PRACT aioe
WEEN is a A
P0-888nq See Gate att. water if inate
Seth LT Ven 2, P re et
pon & bo gti tee SHR: Not hao |
—_ Gal” Any Uipsdedeas Bits theMiog
on) Oye rey, 7 wiavare 1A’! ! bie
a WORE’ Hatha 4 Yo yhote “oe Das wortnae wabernes ae ae
; Lote. iw tatatgh 42 Me cecrersip onal Haat digi. Tol
: on RG Ty. ae Py ATR Neat, Aes es a Dy wee) ae
pope! Te. ie aa ite et etaie Aerie wren P, ee
Phe AE, CO) at ee sry. PAG, AIC Fe)
AEs ealGS Ty Oe ey ee oe 1a. sib +
ke tee Se ety HAN, See Blow fate
i Derma ee emma Entre ass) PAM) Tory | EN au ak dit shadage
TAL ee | cae yt bai: PO ‘on, 4a Dp. Bae
eae ONT weg oe ROR ad PD, GLa ak ee emeiett ;
Woo 7 : ag ret Ue LG uke loeh ther age Rus ‘the ae
ifs © : ee A Te a a A sey, Aleit
AGRA satel SW nu ak coehinoael (ded DSA I. Sed a
nak +4 est a Lala - Led Cavin, ‘Wats
teat uy ty GO) 8 vee TAIT ot Seal pe
ie Phi WM Rata Catia A, Sy Ta etek, an (hehe
Ltt; Berra ee ; oe
I A eae n n, Bi
ike die es Lith, th bd Se hie
‘i
wire 7 .
afar. Wise? sbiripe, PuAm GT S45 Cait ei,
oH rig ty i ete
a Hier Sie, Sk: eatitied pei, ei ARO Tin OA VAT une.) ae \ ey ae |
; Hea 4 PPV HbeD GT WG Aart SA vet tonttal ath alpine i ah
. Os Pel. OE i TA ETS AS ie
as
i
RAs URE ECE 1,
antins Cniciter- watooinirt cieipdanes évilt tin Sagis bia “ta
Jo Cine Daye Susu Ceuta olites Ak
BT eakee aos Ora etn i Ni a spain’ ee a ye wih cca pis a
2 Jamia ry~ Esper
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Lincoln PLATE 1
Photograph by Karl Christofferson
A COMBINATION TRAP BAITED WITH WATER DRIPPING FROM THE PAIL INTO A
SHALLOW BASIN WHICH IS ALMOST CONCEALED BY THE LOWER DOOR
The doors are released simultaneously.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Lincoln PLATE 2
Photograph by M. J. Magee
1. AN EFFICIENT WARBLER TRAP SET OVER A DRINKING FOUNTAIN UNDER AN
APPR REE:
2. TRAP HOLDING NEARLY 250 LESSER SCAUP DUCKS
Paul J. Rainey, Wild Life Refuge, near Abbeville, La.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Lincoln PEATE 3
1. TRAP HOLDING A LARGE CATCH OF DUCKS AND A FEW CANADA GEESE
Lake Malheur bird reservation, Voltage, Oreg.
2. INLAND CREEPER TRAP
The collar of wire netting below the trap;chamber encircles the tree trunk spirally.
PLATE 4
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Lincoln
ane Ae es tet
—> >>
> ee ee
te
3333 Shab Pet teil ct: CSAP REL ES
rm a a a ee Pot
A CATCH OF BLACK AND WHITE WARBLERS MADE WITH THE INLAND
CREEPER TRAP
NS3YM 3SNOH GAGNVa
G S3Lvid ujooury] WAT | *yodayy ueTUOSY IWS
INSECT ENEMIES OF INSECTS AND THEIR RELATION
TO AGRICULTURE
By Curtis P. CLAUSEN
Senior Entomologist, United States Department of Agriculture
Insects of various types play a very important role in affecting
the production of practically all agricultural crops and products
and have an important bearing upon the health of man and animals.
Everyone is familiar with the common insects which each year attack
garden and field crops. The aphids upon roses and other plants, the
caterpillars and beetles which destroy the foliage of shade and fruit
trees, not to mention the maggots and caterpillars in fruits and
vegetables, daily come to our attention. Practically all of these
which most frequently present themselves, whether as plant feeders,
as burrowers in wood, or as destroyers of clotlnng, or which feed
directly upon man himself, are injurious and troublesome, and in
the public mind all insects consequently come under this classifica-
tion. This condemnation, however, is entirely undeserved by a vast
array of insect species which are entirely harmless in themselves, and
at the same time are actively engaged in destroying the injurious
species. That insects should prey upon one another is no more
strange than that the larger animals should do so. The manner in
which this is accomplished in the insect world, however, is much
more diversified.
Under normal conditions in nature a state of equilibrium exists
between all the elements which go to make up the plant and animal
world. No one species attains a pronouncedly dominant position,
and, on the other hand, the species which prey upon it do not
increase to an abnormal extent. Various influences may disturb
this balance from time to time, though these are only temporary
and the normal condition is soon restored. The advent of man,
however, has completely and permanently upset the equilibrium in
large areas throughout the world. The elimination of the natural
flora and the substitution in many localities of a single agricultural
crop have been followed by very unexpected results. These vast
areas of new vegetation made conditions ideal for the development
of insects which feed upon these particular plants, and instead of
353
354 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
being merely elements in a stable complex these insects have assumed
the status of a veritable plague and have persisted in destructive
numbers year after year. This is the condition which we face
constantly with practically all of our principal crops in this coun-
try. In those parts of the world where agricultural practices have
been stabilized for several hundreds or thousands of years the
injury is not nearly so great, owing to a partial restoration of the
natural equilibrium.
Among the greatest influences which operate to maintain an equi-
librium in the insect world and to restrain the destructive capacities
of various species within reasonable bounds are those insects which
attack others of their own class. With comparatively few excep-
tions, every insect has one or more species which feed upon it, and
these in turn may be attacked by others. This adaptation in some
cases is so exact that the parasite can live upon its single host species
only, and the disappearance of that host consequently results in the
extinction of the parasite. For this reason it is undesirable, from
the point of view of the parasite itself, that the host should be unduly
reduced in numbers. Under the condition of equilibrium there is a
constant numerical rise and fall of the host species, which coincides
with, or slightly precedes, the corresponding cycle of its parasites.
In times of abundance of the host the conditions for increase of the
parasites are at their best and consequently they increase rapidly.
This results shortly in a decline of the host species. Eventually a
point is reached where no further increase of the parasites is possible,
and here the cycle starts once again. From our point of view the
question of importance is whether this parasite attack keeps the pest
at a sufficiently low level so that crops are not seriously damaged.
Where the reduction is not sufficient, it is necessary to utilize mechan-
ical control measures, such as spraying, dusting, and fumigation.
Within the United States probably more than half of our most
destructive insect pests upon agricultural crops have been brought
here from other parts of the world. Among these we might men-
tion, as better-known examples, the cotton-boll weevil, the gipsy
moth, the Hessian fly, the European corn borer, the Japanese beetle,
the oriental fruit moth, practically all of the scale insects which are
so destructive to citrus trees, and many others. In most cases these
insects are of minor importance in their native habitats, whereas in
this country the injury inflicted to crops is often very great. This
greater destructiveness of introduced species may be due to several
causes. Among them is the absence of the various natural enemies
which assisted in holding the species in check in its native home.
Usually when an insect gains entry into a new country it leaves its
natural enemies behind, and consequently one of the important re-
straining influences upon it is lacking. There then ensues an ex-
INSECT ENEMIES OF INSECTS—CLAUSEN 355
uberance of development and increase greatly beyond anything
known in its native home, and a species previously considered to be
rather harmless looms up as a major crop pest.
There are wide differences in the habits of these insect parasites
and predators. Some moths, for instance, are parasitic in the larval
stage on adult cicadas and upon other insects of that order, while
other species in the same stage may feed upon aphids or various scale
insects. The two groups which dominate in the parasitic role are
the wasps and flies. To most people, the fly is essentially a house-
hold pest, and they are not at all familiar with the very large num-
ber of species which live at the expense of other insects and are
seldom seen.
There are many ways in which these parasites and predators live
at the expense of other insects. Some feed exclusively upon the
eggs, some feed upon the larvae or the pupae, or even upon the
adult insects, while still others are parasitic, either externally or
internally, upon the various stages. Those species which are true
parasites live at the expense of a single individual throughout their
period of development and consequently do not cause its death
until their growth is completed. This may occur in different stages,
dependent upon the species concerned. From the point of view of
the parasite, this is of little consequence. From the viewpoint of
the agriculturist, however, it is essential that the host be killed
before it is able to reproduce itself, otherwise very little benefit will
be derived by way of reduction in numbers of the following genera-
tions. It is for this reason that a 50 per cent parasitization, or
even less, may result in the practical control of one pest, whereas
100 per cent may be of little value in the case of another. An in-
stance of this is shown in the case of a small wasp, Scutellista cyanea,
which attacks the black scale of citrus in California. The egg is
deposited beneath the scale and the larva feeds upon the host eggs.
The individual scale deposits from 1,000 to 2,000 eggs, and the
parasite larva in the course of its development is able to consume
only a portion of them. Those which remain are sufficient to main-
tain the infestation upon the trees at a maximum figure, and the
presence of the parasite is consequently of little practical value.
Some species of insects are attacked by a very large series of
parasites, in some instances numbering several dozen species. Where
this occurs there may be extensive competition among them for the
possession of the host. Where several species attack the same host
individual, only one normally survives. This may be determined
by an earlier time of the attack by the one species, or by a greater
aggressiveness of its larva. In some species the newly hatched
larvae are decidedly aggressive and have very pronounced cannibal-
149571—33——_24
356 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
istic tendencies, whereas others are very tolerant, and consequently
are dominated and destroyed by the more active ones. Where two
tolerant species occur together in the same host one or both may die
from starvation, though occasionally it has been seen that both
species develop and mature normally.
The rate of increase of insect parasites, or, rather, their capacity
for reproduction, is dependent upon the manner of parasitization
of the host and the hazards which are encountered during the period
of development. Certain of these species may deposit 10,000 or more
eggs and still show no increase in numbers from year to year. These
species are the ones which do not lay their eggs directly upon or in
the host, but instead scatter them promiscuously or place them only
in the general vicinity of the host. The young larva then has the
task of finding and entering its host, and the number which are able
to do so is dependent upon the abundance of the latter. These mi-
nute larvae usually have a considerable power of search, though their
range is limited. The larvae of Perilampus, which is one-twentieth
of an inch in length, moves in a looping manner and the total
distance it is able to travel during its life is consequently limited.
The similar larvae of certain other wasps and flies are aided by an
ability to jump considerable distances, and in this way they are
often able to reach a host larva in their vicinity.
The ant parasites of the hymenopterous family Eucharidae, which
develop upon pupae in the nest, deposit from 1,000 to 10,000 eggs
and have a very unusual mode of life. In Schizaspidia the eggs are
not laid in the nest at all, but are placed in large masses in the buds
of trees. Here they pass the winter and hatch the following spring,
shortly after the buds expand. At this time of the year the aphids
are quite numerous on the foliage and the worker ants congregate
about them to feed on the honeydew which they secrete. The young
larvae of Schizaspidia are at this time resting on the leaves, and
whenever opportunity offers attach themselves to the ants and are
eventually carried down into the nest. Here they transfer to the
mature larvae and eventually complete their development upon the
pupae. In one single small mulberry tree which was examined, there
were estimated to be at least 6,000,000 eggs of this species within
the buds at the time of the examination. This proved to be a more
or less constant condition each year. The ant population in the vicin-
ity totaled only a few thousand, yet only about 50 per cent were
destroyed by the parasite. The number of larvae which are able to
attach themselves to the worker ants must be exceedingly small.
They are entirely dependent upon the aphids to attract the ants to
the tree, and if these aphids are scarce, then the chance of the para-
site finally reaching an ant nest becomes exceedingly small, for only
an occasional ant will be found upon the tree.
INSECT ENEMIES OF INSECTS—CLAUSEN 357
Another group of insects which presents a most unusual life his-
tory is the wasp family Trigonalidae. The species of this family
are parasitic in fly pupae and in the larvae of other wasps. In
most instances their effect is detrimental to vegetation, as the host
species themselves are parasitic on various caterpillars which feed
on the foliage. The female trigonalid deposits her very minute eggs
upon the foliage of certain plants, and several thousand may be
laid each day for a week or more. These eggs are eaten by the
caterpillars as they feed on the foliage, and hatch within the diges-
tive tract a very short time thereafter. The young larva then pene-
trates the intestinal wall of the caterpillar and enters the general
body cavity. Here it searches about in an effort to find the larvae
of some other parasitic wasp or fly. If successful in this search, it
then enters the body of this larva in turn and eventually develops
to maturity. In this instance the chance of a successful outcome
is exceedingly remote, and consequently a very high potential rate
of reproduction is necessary to maintain the species. The first great
loss is suffered by the eggs themselves, as only a very small propor-
tion of them will be eaten by caterpillars, and those which are not
eaten never hatch. The eggs which are fortunate enough to be eaten,
however, and which hatch within the caterpillar, are still confronted
with the possibility that the caterpillar does not contain another
parasite larva,
Where these insects occur as parasites of the nest-building wasps
their life history appears to be even more complex. These wasps,
of the genus Vespa and related forms, feed upon the body fluids of
caterpillars and then return to the nest and feed their larvae with
this material. With this host, the course of events in the life cycle
of the trigonalid is as follows: The eggs are laid on foliage; they
are eaten by the caterpillar and hatch in the digestive tract; the
caterpillar is killed by a female Vespa and its body fluids, which
contain the minute parasite larva, are consumed. The wasp then
flies back to the nest and feeds this material to its own larvae, and
thus the trigonalid finally reaches its ultimate host and eventually
attains maturity.
It is quite clear, in view of the hazards which the trigonalid ex-
periences before reaching its host, that a very great loss in numbers
must take place. The production of 10,000 or more eggs by each
female is very evidently a provision to compensate for this great
chance of loss. Of this total, it is necessary for only 2 to attain ma-
turity to maintain the species. That the egg production is not ex-
cessive in view of the mode of life is evidenced by the fact that this
is one of the rarest of all parasite groups and few entomologists
have ever seen a living specimen.
308 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The rate of reproduction which has been mentioned in Schizaspidia
and in the Trigonalidae is not at all unusual and is equaled in many
other groups, particularly among the parasitic flies, and also in some
beetles. The greatest potential increase, however, is found in the
relatively small groups of parasitic wasps of the families Encyrtidae
and Platygasteridae which, among others, have developed the very
remarkable habit of polyembryonic reproduction, where a single egg
may give rise to a number of individuals. In some species this num-
ber is only 2, in others 12 to 16, and it may attain a total of several
hundred or possibly thousands. From a single caterpillar as many
as 3,500 of these minute wasps of the genus Copidosoma have been
reared. The number of eggs required to provide for this total is not
known, but it is quite certain that this one species, at least, is theo-
retically capable of increasing itself thousands of times each genera-
tion. As in the preceding cases, the capacity for reproduction is
based on the limiting factors, and, as in the case of the Trigonalidae,
this group likewise is quite uncommon. These forms are seldom as
important in the control of the host as are other parasites which have
a very much lower reproductive capacity but which are free from
these handicaps.
The rates of increase which have been mentioned may appear to
be very high, and they are greatly in excess of that which is possible
with the great majority of parasite species. It is of very little signif-
icance whether or not the parasite has a greater rate of increase than
the host. The important point is whether it will continue to in-
crease until the host species is overcome. Some parasite species have
a considerable advantage in being able to produce several genera-
tions to each one of the host. These may all be passed upon the same
host species or each one may be on a different host. This latter habit,
however, may be a handicap rather than an advantage, as some one
of these hosts may occur in only very small numbers and conse-
quently increase upon it, or even the maintenance of its numerical
status, is impossible.
In the case of those insects which have come to us from other
parts of the world, it is desirable if possible to establish here the
restraining influences which operate in their native homes. In other
words, this is an effort to restore the natural equilibrium. We have
no control over climatic conditions, and where this is the principal
factor involved there is little hope of remedying the situation. If,
however, the lack of its natural enemies has been responsible for the
increase in numbers of a species, then we can import them and pos-
sibly reduce the pest to a position of minor importance.
The problem is oftentimes quite complex and the outcome of these
importations can seldom or never be anticipated with confidence. A
parasite which is very effective against its host in its native habitat
INSECT ENEMIES OF INSECTS—CLAUSEN 359
may not even maintain itself in the new locality, even though condi-
tions are ideal for the host and very nearly duplicate those to which
the parasite species has previously been accustomed. We are thus
forced to adopt the empirical method and test all of the parasites in
turn in the hope that some one or more of them will find the new
environment favorable to its development and be able to subdue the
pest.
The introduction of beneficial insects into the United States from
other parts of the world is only one phase of the attempt to keep
the injurious species sufficiently under control so that our various
crops may be produced in sufficient volume and at a profit to the
grower. The customary methods of control involve the application
of various poisons which kill by contact or when eaten. In the
citrus groves the great majority of pests are controlled by fumigation
with hydrocyanic acid gas. Many of these control methods are very
effective and the insect pests are kept at a very low level by their
use. It is necessary, however, to employ this artificial control year
after year, or several times each year, and consequently such work
involves a constantly recurring expense, and one which the margin
of profit on many crops does not justify. The control of the pest
by the importation of insect parasites and predators, if it is success-
ful, has this one great advantage: The initial cost is usually the
total cost. For this reason a successful introduction may result in
greatly reducing the damage and at the same time may render
unnecessary any further annual expenditure. This complete control
unfortunately is seldom effected, and in a great majority of cases
we secure only partial success. The customary control by other
means is still necessary, though possibly on a reduced scale.
The United States Department of Agriculture has been engaged
for a great many years in the importation of the natural enemies
of a considerable number of our principal crop pests. Rather
curiously, the first attempt along this line, namely the introduction
of the Vedalia beetle, was a complete success and served to focus
attention upon the possibilities of this method of control.
The cottony-cushion scale became established upon citrus in Calli-
fornia in 1872 and within 10 years was generally distributed through-
out the State and seriously threatened the commercial production
of citrus fruits. Entire orchards were being abandoned as un-
profitable and the outlook was exceedingly gloomy. At this stage
the department delegated one of its representatives to undertake
the search for parasites and predators in Australia. This is the
native home of the scale and consequently offered the best oppor-
tunity for finding its enemies. A short search revealed that the
scale in Australia was kept in continued subjugation by a small
beetle, Vedalia cardinalis by name. A quantity of these beetles were
360 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
collected and brought to California, and of these 129 arrived alive.
These reproduced so rapidly that millions were available in a rela-
tively short time. They were distributed throughout the groves
in Southern California and in two years the menace of the cottony-
cushion scale disappeared. To the present day there has been no
serious outbreak of the scale in the State. Occasional small out-
breaks do appear, but these are quickly found by the Vedalia and
disappear within a few weeks or months.
This little Vedalia beetle has undoubtedly saved the growers of
California millions of dollars each year, while the cost of importing
it was only $1,500. Since the time of the appearance of the cottony-
cushion scale in California this scale has spread to various countries
throughout the world, to Japan, Spain, France, Italy, Egypt, and
practically every region in which citrus is grown. Into each of these
countries in turn the Vedalia has been introduced and has repeated
the success first achieved in California.
The striking results secured with Vedalia served as a stimulus to
this type of work against many insects and in many countries.
Similar world-wide distribution has taken place in the case of
Prospaltella, which is a parasite of the scale insect Deaspis penta-
gona, found on peach and other fruit trees, and Aphelinus malt,
parasitic in the woolly aphis upon apple trees. The success, however,
has not been so uniform as was the case with Vedalia.
At the present time the importation of parasites and predators
is one phase of the program for the control of practically all of
our more important insect pests which have gained entry from other
countries. For the last 25 years the natural enemies of the gipsy
moth have been studied in various parts of Europe and Asia and
a very large number of species have been shipped to the United
States and tested. An extensive series of parasites has become well
established and has had a very appreciable effect upon the moth
infestation.
Another foreign insect which has become most destructive in this
country is the so-called Japanese beetle, which was first found in
New Jersey in 1916 and has since spread over a wide area. The
search for the parasites of this beetle has been in progress for 13
years, and more than 1,000,000 parasites, of 24 species, have been
imported from Japan, Chosen (Korea), China, and India.
The work to date upon this beetle illustrates very well the disap-
pointments which are often experienced in parasite-introduction
work. In northern Japan there was found a fly (Centeter cinerea)
which in alternate years destroyed 90 per cent or more of all beetles
in the field within two weeks after their emergence. From a study
of conditions in northern Japan it seemed quite evident that the
beetle was kept within reasonable bounds solely by this parasite, and
INSECT ENEMIES OF INSECTS—CLAUSEN 361
that without it considerable damage would have been done to various
crops. This parasite seemed to be the solution of our problem here
in the United States. It was capable of effecting a very high per-
centage of parasitization in the field, it destroyed the beetles before
they were able to deposit their eggs, and, where the host population
was reasonably uniform, it maintained a nearly constant status year
after year. Centeter was shipped from Japan to the United States in
large numbers and the first liberations were made in New Jersey
about 10 years ago. It quickly became established and additional
colonies from Japan have reinforced the original colonies each year.
Yet the condition of the parasite infestation at the present time, 10
years after the first importation, reveals a very disappointing state
of affairs. The fly has apparently reacted to the changed conditions
in a different way from that of the bectle. In Japan the flies emerge
each year shortly before the beeties and are present during the entire
period of beetle emergence. Here in the United States, however, the
flies emerge about one month in advance of the beetles and many die
before they can find any of the beetles upon which to deposit their
eggs. The remainder attack the first beetles which appear and all of
them are dead before the peak of beetle emergence is reached. Ow-
ing to this failure to synchronize its time of appearance with that
of the host, the parasite has not been able to increase its numbers.
It is possible that this difficulty will adjust itself in time. With its
present habits in the United States, however, the parasite can be
of very little value in controlling this destructive beetle.
Probably the most extensive parasite-introduction project devel-
oped by the Bureau of Entomology is that upon the European corn
borer, which is now widely distributed in the United States. Mil-
lions of parasites, representing a large number of species, have been
imported from Europe and the Far East. Several species show
considerable promise, though it is yet too early to estimate their
value in reducing this pest.
The most recent work of the department along parasite-introduc-
tion lines has been that against the citrus black fly. This insect
belongs in a family closely related to that of the scale insects. It
is very minute, and develops in vast numbers on the leaves, often
causing an almost complete loss of the crop. This black fly is a
native of tropical Asia, but has become established in Cuba and
other islands of the West Indies and in Central America. It does
not occur as yet in the United States, but because of the wide
variety of plants which it attacks and its very rapid spread, there
is a real possibility that it will eventually reach the Gulf States.
For this reason the department entered into a cooperative arrange-
ment with the department of agriculture and commerce of Cuba for
the importation of its natural enemies. Some years previous to this
362 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
time the Italian entomologist, Silvestri, had visited Malaya and
reported finding several very effective parasites. These species were
imported into Cuba during 1930 and 1931 and one of them, E’retmo-
cerus serius, has been remarkably effective. The liberation of a few
hundred individuals in an infested grove results in effective and
complete control in 6 to 10 months. This parasite has been estab-
lished in the other islands of the West Indies and in Central America,
and in all localities has proved equally successful. As a result of
this work, the citrus growers of the Gulf coast now have litle to
fear from the black fly. The possibility of its entry is greatly
reduced, and should it appear in this country, the parasites can be
quickly established here.
An equally successful result has recently been achieved in Cali-
fornia in the effort by the college of agriculture and the experiment
station to control the so-called citrophilus mealybug upon citrus.
This species, like the cottony-cushion scale, evidently came originally
from Australia. Its parasites were found and liberated in California,
and within two years the pest was completely subjugated.
In Hawaii we find an exceptional illustration of the extent to
which parasites may be utilized in controlling insects injurious to
crops. The sugarcane growers in the islands maintain their own
experiment station, which deals with all problems relating to sugar
production. During the past 30 years at least five major insect pests
of sugarcane have been effectively controlled by the introduction of
parasites from various islands of the South Pacific and from Asia.
In addition, the injuriousness of many other species has been
markedly reduced.
The more frequent successes in Hawaii along this line as com-
pared to those in the United States are due to several factors. The
Hawaiian Islands are of voleanic origin and consequently all plant
and animal life has been introduced. Their insect fauna is conse-
quently quite simple, and the number of species is not great. There
is less likelihood of the loss of an introduced parasite species through
dispersion or by its transfer to another host. Climatic conditions
are ideal throughout the year and are quite similar to those which
exist in other Pacific islands. The introduced species consequently
do not have to adapt themselves to a changed or a complex environ-
ment.
In many parts of the world an extended attempt is now being
made to utilize these insect enemies of their own kind to prevent
serious damage to agricultural crops. While they are often obscure,
and their attack upon the plant-feeding species is seldom noticed by
the grower, yet without them the economical production of practi-
cally all crops would be rendered much more difficult.
PLANT RECORDS OF THE ROCKS!
By A. C. Srwarp
Professor of Botany in the University of Cambridge, England
From an examination of the remains of plants preserved as fos-
sils it is possible in some degree to reconstruct scenes from the
remote past and to follow the changing vegetation on the earth’s
surface through many periods of geological history. Students of
the history of the plant world turn to the records of the rocks in
the hope of obtaining light on the origin and relationship of the
various classes and groups represented in existing floras; their aim
is to trace the development of the plant world through the ages,
from the earliest age of which any records are available to the
present day; to visualize the procession of floras “ foreshortened in
the tract of time.”
The sources available to the botanical historian are the fossils
preserved in the earth’s crust, that is, the relatively thin film which
is the only part of the earth accessible to human investigation.
Rocks are in part consolidated gravels, sands, and muds upraised
from ancient lakes and seas, sediments essentially similar to those
now being carried by rivers and ocean currents and deposited in
deltas, on sea beaches, and on the floors of shelving coasts. Other
rocks are igneous in origin; some formed far below the surface under
pressure and intense heat by the crystallization of molten magmas;
others, such as lavas and layers of ash derived from volcanic sources
and spread over the surface of the land or on the sea floor.
The present is the key to the past; a turbid river charged with sand
and finer particles of clay carries to its delta, with these scouring:
from the rocks, floating stems and branches of trees which were grow-
ing on banks undermined by the stream; on its surface float twigs,
leaves, and other wind-borne fragments. ‘The sediment comes to rest
as the velocity of the river is checked and in it are included samples of
the contemporary vegetation. Forests growing near an active vol-
cano are overwhelmed by lava streams or showers of ash, and it is not
uncommon to find remains of plants of former ages preserved in
material which caused their death.
1Sixth Hamilton lecture, illustrated by lantern slides, delivered at the Smithsonian
Institution on Mar. 30, 1932.
Syn
363
364 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
It is easy to realize that the chances of preservation of plants is
remote; we can picture low-lying ground covered with trees and
smaller plants being flooded with water and ultimately buried under
sand and mud; we can see rivers transporting logs of wood and
broken foliage shoots, but conditions essential for preservation would
seem to be fortunate accidents and of comparatively rare occurrence.
We can not hope to recover from the rocks more than a few and usu-
ally fragmentary samples of plants which happened to be growing
where it was possible for them to be saved from complete destruction.
The term “ fossil ” is often used in too narrow a sense; many people
associate the expression “ fossil plant” with wood that has been
rendered indestructible by petrifaction, a common though unfortu-
nately by no means the commonest method of preservation. A few
examples will serve to illustrate the true nature of fossils, that is,
plants or pieces of plants buried in the earth by natural causes.
At several places on the English coast, as on other coasts, there
may be seen at low tide stumps of trees embedded in a peaty soil con-
trasted by its darker color from the sandy beach; the wood of the
stumps is dark brown, though not much altered and easily cut with
a sharp knife. With the stools and roots of the trees are associated
leaves and seeds, and occasionally implements made by prehistoric
man; in these submerged forests we have evidence of a sinking of
the land surface at no very distant date. Another and more impres-
sive illustration of the preservation of plants in places where they
grew is furnished by seams of coal, especially by seams containing
nodules of hard calcareous rock known as coal balls. Coal is usually
described as the altered remains of the vegetation of swamps and
lagoons. When a low-lying forest area was submerged and sedi-
ments were spread over the vegetable débris, it occasionally hap-
pened that water charged with mineral matter in solution, perco-
lating through the covering sediment into the black mass of plant
refuse below, deposited lime or other preservative substances in the
cells and cell walls of the plant fragments and so converted into stone
patches of the forest litter. Thin sections of the coal balls prepared
by a cutting machine reveal on microscopical examination the minute
structure of twigs, leaves, and seeds and enable us to reconstruct
many of the plants which flourished in the Coal Age. The tissue
and, in some instances, even the contents of the cells, are preserved
in amazing perfection; as we examine under high magnification the
minute cells we almost forget that we are looking at scraps of ex-
tinct plants which lived probably about 200,000,000 years ago.
Stems and branches of plants are occasionally found in beds of
volcanic origin; in southern Scotland there is abundant evidence of
vigorous volcanic activity in the early days of the Carboniferous
PLANT RECORDS OF THE ROCKS—SEWARD 365
period; and in some of the beds of ash remarkably well-preserved
stems of Lepidodendron have been found, a common tree in the later
Paleozoic forests, which is distantly related to the living lycopods
or club mosses, though probably not the direct ancestor of any sur-
viving members of the great lycopod group. One specimen described
several years ago will serve as an illustration: It is a block of stem
about 1 foot in diameter encased in a shell of bark surrounding a
mass of volcanic ash in which lies the woody axis of the plant. The
more delicate tissues between the bark and woody cylinder have
decayed, and their place has been taken by the ash. Both the
stronger tissues of the bark and wood and the delicate tissue imme-
diately surrounding the wood are almost perfectly preserved in sili
ceous material which, one imagines, the heated waters from some
neighboring volcanic source deposited in the body of the fallen tree.
Specimens of petrified wood, which are often found in beds of sand-
stone, have usually been transported a considerable distance from the
place where the living trees stood. A piece of stem, which had no
doubt been carried as driftwood far from its original home, was
found by members of one of the British Antarctic expeditions in
a bowlder on one of the moraines of the Beardmore Glacier about
1,100 miles from the South Pole; its anatomical characters show that
it was part of the stem of an extinct type of tree known as Rhexoxy-
lon, which was first described from rocks of Triassic age in South
Africa. It is clear that the occurrence of driftwood, whether fossil
or recent, can not be trusted as evidence of the nature of the vegeta-
tion where the wood occurs.
The majority of fossil plants are not petrified but occur as thin
films of carbonaceous matter on beds of shale; the internal structure
is not preserved—only the outlines of cells and strips of the highly
resistant superficial skin, or cuticle, which it is often possible to
examine microscopically after treating the detached film with cer-
tain reagents. Some years ago small pieces of liverworts were dis-
covered in England in a bed of carboniferous shale; they had been
preserved as delicate mummified scraps from which it was possible
to recognize the nature of the plants. These were the first recorded
examples of Paleozoic liverworts, and it is noteworthy that in form
and in the superficial cellular structure they agree very closely
with certain living representatives of the group. Another common
type of fossil is that known as a cast; in quarrying rocks stumps
of trees, spreading at the base into long and forked rootlike branches,
are sometimes laid bare. No trace of the original plant structure is
left, merely a mass of sandstone or shale identical with the inclos-
ing rock and preserving the form, occasionally also the external
pattern, of the tree. One can picture broken stumps of forest trees
366 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
covered with sand, the wood and other tissues gradually decaying
and crumbling into dust which was ultimately swept away by the
flowing water; a mold or cavity was left where the remains of the
tree had been. Subsequently more sand filled the space and thus
casts of the tree bases and roots were made. Large casts of Lepido-
dendron stems illustrating this method of preservation were dis-
covered many years ago in rocks of Carboniferous age near Glasgow
in Scotland, and are now preserved as a natural monument.
One of the aims of geologists is to determine the relative ages of
rocks by means of the order of superposition and the nature of the
animal and plant fossils. It has been possible to arrange the rocks
of the earth’s crust in the order of their geologic age and thus to
furnish what may be called a table of contents of the history of
the world. The history of the earth, like the history of peoples, 1s
conveniently divided into periods or chapters, and in recent years
it has been possible to give estimates of the actual age in years of
the several eras and periods represented by the sedimentary and
igneous rocks. To the oldest known set of rocks the comprehensive
term “ pre-Cambrian ” has been given; of the life of that era, which
in duration probably equaled or even exceeded all the other eras
and periods put together, we know practically nothing. It must
have been in the course of this pre-Cambrian age that a lifeless world
became the scene of the first act in the drama of life. Life prob-
ably began in the sea, but we can never expect to discover in the
rocks traces of the inconceivably minute bodies of the first or the
most primitive representatives of the organic world. From the rocks
of the succeeding Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian periods sev-
eral fossil seaweeds have been obtained; also, from Silurian rocks,
a very few imperfectly preserved remains of terrestrial plants.
It is not until we pass to the sediments of the Devonian period
that satisfactory records of land plants are available. Many years
ago the late Sir William Dawson, of Montreal, described numerous
Devonian plants from rocks of the Gaspé Peninsula, and much
more recently there was discovered in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, at
Rhynie, a bed of flinty rock, or chert, full of beautifully preserved
petrified stems and spore cases of small plants which have added
greatly to our knowledge of one of the most ancient floras in the
world. The Rhynie chert may be described as a petrified sample
of a peaty swamp. We can reconstruct a scene in Devonian Scot-
land: Pre-Cambrian mountains overlooking a flat expanse of
swampy ground covered with a green carpet of plants a few inches
high; not far away, we may suppose, were fumaroles providing
heated water which dissolved silica from the rocks and subsequently
deposited it in the tissues of the peat-forming plants. One of the
PLANT RECORDS OF THE ROCKS—SEWARD 367
most abundant plants in the chert, appropriately named Rhynia,
grew to a height of a few inches; its leafless cylindrical stems were
borne on a creeping underground rhizome without roots, and some
of the slender branches were crowned with cylindrical spore-cap-
sules. Cross sections of the erect stems reveal an amazingly perfect
preservation; a strand of comparatively thick-walled conducting
tissue lies in the center of a mass of more delicate cells in which the
remains of the living contents are clearly preserved in silica.
Rhynia differs in some respects from all living plants; it is one of
the simplest and most primitive of all known members of the vege-
table kingdom which are provided with a conducting strand of
woody tissue. With other Devonian types it has been assigned to
a group known as the Psilophytales, which includes among other
plants the genus Pstlophyton described by Dawson and so named
by him because of its resemblance in certain characters to the
existing Psilotum of the southern Tropics.
Another of the Scottish plants, Asteroxylon, differed from Rhynia
in having crowded scalelike leaves on the main stem and lower
branches, while at the tips of more slender leafless branches were
borne spore capsules. Asteroxylon, like Rhynia, was rootless. It
was slightly larger; in its leafy stems and in the form of the con-
ducting strand it is comparable to living species of Lycopodium.
It is noteworthy that some of these Devonian plants resemble more
than one type of living plants; Rhynia and Asteroxylon between
them bear some resemblance to mosses, to Pstlotum, and to Lycopo-
dium; the spore capsules of Asterorylon are not unlike those of
some of the oldest known ferns. Thus we find in a single extinct
plant or in closely ailied plants points of contact with more than
one living type; it would seem that such association in one individ-
ual of characters now distributed among different families or groups
may be indicative of the common ancestry of plants that are now
far apart. Rhynia and Asteroxylon are selected as examples of
Devonian plants because of their exceptionally good state of preser-
vation; we are able to picture them as living plants and to describe
their minute structure with a completeness which makes it difficult
for us to remember that they were members of a flora which existed
about 300,000,000 years ago. Many other Devonian plants are
known from North America, Norway, Scotland, Germany, and else-
where, and it is possible to obtain a general impression of the out-
standing features of a vegetation characteristic of the earlier stages
of the Devonian period. The majority of the plants were leafless,
or provided only with small appendages in place of the usual flat
foliage leaves; some reached a length of several feet and in general
plan of construction bore a certain resemblance to ferns, though true
368 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
ferns, so far as we know, did not play a part in the vegetation until
later.
It is not intended to describe the oldest known terrestrial plants
but rather to show by a few examples that, despite the meagerness
of the records, it is possible to obtain a glimpse of the vegetation of
the world in an age separated from the present by 200 to 300 mil-
lions of years. In the course of the latter part of the Devonian
period many new types were evolved; woody trees vying in com-
plexity of structure with modern conifers, though probably not
closely related to them; plants bearing large fernlike fronds, which,
it is suspected, were not true ferns but members of an extinct group,
which rose to greater prominence in the forests of the coal age; trees
with forked stems and branches bearing pendulous spore capsules
and needlelike leaves resembling the Lepidodendre and other arbo-
rescent Lycopodialean plants of Carboniferous floras.
Passing to the Carboniferous period we find that the land vegeta-
tion had reached a much higher level; there were many new types,
and the dominant groups were represented by an amazing variety
of forms. It was in the latter part of the Carboniferous period
that the Paleozoic plant world reached its culminating point. Atten-
tion is called to one of the extinct groups, the pteridosperms, so
named because the large compound fronds closely resembled those
of ferns but differed in bearing seeds and not merely spores. With
them were associated some undoubted ferns, some of which differed
widely from any that still exist; others already exhibited features
characteristic of living ferns. The pteridosperms seem to have
occupied a position in the late Paleozoic floras comparable to that
now held by the flowering plants; it may be that these two great
classes, though distinguished by several important features, are not
unrelated. With the pteridosperms were associated tall calamites
resembling in habit of growth gigantic Hguiseta, though probably
not their direct ancestors; Lepidodendron, Sigillaria, and other
arborescent members of the group Lycopodiales, which includes also
the living club mosses and ground pine (Lycopodiwm). In the
forests of the Coal Age some of the more abundant and conspicuous
trees seem to afford instances of gigantism; it is not clear that they
left any direct descendants which persisted to later ages; they were
highly differentiated plants which reached their maximum size in
the latter part of the Carboniferous period and then gradually passed
out of existence. Like the dinosaurs in the animal kingdom they
were overdeveloped members of the plant kingdom unfitted to com-
pete successfully with later and more efficient products of evolution.
In the Carboniferous period there were also smaller, herbaceous
lycopods surprisingly similar to living species of Selaginella which
PLANT RECORDS OF THE ROCKS—SEWARD 369
furnish striking examples of persistence through the ages of certain
plants that are relatively small and simple.
The study of extinct floras shows very clearly that while group
after group were evolved, increased in numbers, spread over a large
part of the world and ee rapidly declined or died out, other Broa
ucts of evolution held their own with little or no eal change
from the remote past to the present day.
At the close of the Carboniferous period the face of the earth
changed; foldings of the crust brought into being mountain ranges;
forests were replaced by the sparse vegetation of semiarid regions.
This geological revolution had its repercussion in the course of
organic evolution; the changed environment, which followed as the
natural consequence of crustal changes, was a potent factor in alter-
ing the composition and the nature of the world’s floras. Failure to
discover undoubted pteridosperms in rocks formed subsequently to
the Paleozoic era led to the belief that these seed-bearing fernlike
plants failed to retain a hold on life in the altered circumstances
caused by the revolution in the inorganic world. Evidence has re-
cently been brought forward by Dr. Hamshaw Thomas and Dr. T. M.
Harris, of Cambridge, definitely showing that some pteridosperms
continued to play an important part in the vegetation of the earlier
stages of the Mesozoic era. It was suggested by the writer several
years ago that certain fernlike fronds that are abundant in Triassic
and Jurassic floras might belong to pteridosperms; this opinion
has now received some confirmation through the discovery of both
male and female organs—pollensacs with pollen, and seeds—which
undoubtedly belong to genera, e. g., Lepidopteris, which most
paleobotanists had ASE among the ferns.
Results obtained by students of fossil plants raise many problems
other than those more directly connected with the great problem of
evolution. We are accustomed to associate assemblages of living
plants with different climatic conditions, and it has been said that
the application of knowledge gained from the present enables us to
use fossil plants as “ thermometers of the ages.” One example will
serve to illustrate this aspect of paleobotany. The greater part of
the island of Greenland is now buried deep under vast ice sheets;
it is only on the narrow coastal fringe and on a few isolated peaks
(Nunataks) protruding through the ice that plants are able to com-
plete their life cycle in the extremely short Arctic summer. [Except
in the district near Cape Farewell there are no trees—only willows
not more than about 3 feet high and a prostrate birch. The flora,
excluding the lower plants, includes nearly 400 species of flowering
plants, a few ferns and their allies; it is a typical Arctic flora with
temperate associates. On the west coast of Greenland and on Disko
370 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Island, approximately 1,200 miles from the North Pole, there are
beds of sand and clay with bands of lignite which were deposited as
sediment in a bay of the Cretaceous sea and subsequently upraised.
In these rocks have been found many fossil plants which bear no
resemblance and show only distant relationship to the components
of the present flora. The commonest Cretaceous ferns are closely
allied to species of the genus Gleichenia that is now widely spread
in the southern Tropics and entirely unknown in Europe and in
almost the whole of North America.
Trees were represented by several kinds of Platanus (the syca-
more of North America; the planetree of England), a genus now
living in eastern North America, in a narrower territory along the
more southern part of the Pacific coast, in Greece and Asia Minor:
by several different conifers, including one related to the redwoods
of California and Oregon, another allied to the umbrella-pine of
Japan. There were also magnohas, an Artocarpus closely resembling
in leaf and inflorescence the tropical breadfruit tree, and trees bear-
ing leaves hardly distinguishable from those of the maidenhair-tree
(Ginkgo biloba) which, it is said, no longer occurs in a wild state.
The Cretaceous flora of Greenland is made up of many different
plants, several of them belonging to genera that are now represented
by tropical, subtropical, or temperate species. Others are extinct
genera. It would seem that we might reasonably conclude from the
evidence of the fossils that Cretaceous Greenland enjoyed a sub-
tropical climate. There are, however, serious objections to this in-
ference: we are hardly at liberty to assume that extinct species—and
all the Greenland plants are extinct species—lived under climatic
conditions identical with or even very near to those required by their
modern descendants. It is well known that some existing plants are
tolerant of a wide range of temperature and other physical condi-
tions, also that closely allied plants often live under very different
conditions. Moreover, it is conceivable that in the course of ages
genera and families of plants may have undergone a change in their
constitution; plants that are now unable to endure an Arctic or a
temperate climate may formerly have been less sensitive and hardier.
May we not think of change in the adaptability of an organism as
well as of change in structure acquired in the course of thousands,
or it may be, millions of years?
It is possible by altering the distribution of land and water to
change the direction of currents in the sea and air and thus modify
the factors governing climate; but it is doubtful whether any such
alteration could so far amelioriate the climate of an Arctic land as
to fulfill the conditions which seem to be indicated by the Cretaceous
flora. There are two possibilities: First, the assumption, and it is
PLANT RECORDS OF THE ROCKS—SEWARD onl
only an assumption, that Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift
expresses a truth—in other words, the land that is now Greenland
may have been farther from the North Pole than it is now; second,
as already suggested, it is arguable that the relation between living
plants and climatic conditions should not be accepted as applicable
to the plants of other genera and species which lived about a hundred
million yearsago. The Cretaceous flora of Greenland is one of many
ancient floras which raise puzzling and fascinating problems by no
means easy of solution.
Reference has been made to evidence furnished by fossil plants of
the gradual rise to prominence in the Paleozoic era of groups of
plants which after a time of vigorous development became almost or
completely extinct; evolution of the plant kingdom was character-
ized by the rise and fall of dynasties that are no longer with us. The
study of fossil plants also affords striking instances of the remote
antiquity of some genera that are still in being. The maidenhair
tree that is often seen in cultivation is the solitary survivor of a
group which in all probability traces back its ancestry to the latter
part of the Paleozoic era. In the early stages of the Mesozoic era,
particularly in the latter part of the Triassic period and through the
whole of the Jurassic period, the ginkgo group was represented by
many different genera, all of which, with the exception of Ginkgo,
have long been extinct. Ginkgo biloba was aptly styled by Darwin
“a living fossil”; it is unquestionably one of the most ancient types
in the world. It was once almost cosmopolitan in its geographical
range and now it lives only where man has planted it.
A retrospect through the ages shows that there has been an evolu-
tion, an unfolding of innumerable structural forms, some more com-
plex and larger than their nearest living relatives, destined to endure
for a time, then to disappear. Evolution was not a simple uniform
progression as was formerly believed. We are still unable con-
fidently to picture the procession of classes, groups, and families
through the hundreds of millions of years that have elapsed since
the earth received on its surface the pioneers of the plant kingdom.
Imperfect as the geologic record certainly is, we can hopefully look
forward to learning more of the mysteries of evolution from the
records of the rocks than from any other source. The records, though
lamentably incomplete, are rich in treasures worthy of study. The
unexplored material both in museums and in the rocks is enormous;
the workers in this fruitful field are unfortunately very few.
149571—33
25
a *
©
- ‘
-
"
4
“
}
i A
7
J
:
ts
rey
’
fyi
he
eT
ac
* .
Lars
ar haaal
CULTIVATING ALGAE FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH?
By FLORENCE BE. MEIER
Division of Radiation and Organisms, Smithsonian Institution
[With 3 plates]
Carl von Nigeli, the old master of botany, once planted some
slimy green spirogyra plants in three aquaria. Surprisingly, the
plants in the aquarium first planted died immediately, those in the
second aquarium lived longer, while those in the third aquarium
flourished until the tank was a mass of green slime. Time and again
the plants in the aquarium first planted died while others lived.
What was the answer to this puzzling riddle? Could it be the fault
of the algae plants, all of which were similar when placed in the
three tanks? Or was it due to the water, all of which came from
the same supply and was supposedly pure? Von Nigeli, after ponder-
ing for some time, found the answer. The water in the three aquaria
was not the same. True, it all came from the same well, but the
water for the first aquarium had rested for some time in lead pipes.
It had also come in contact with the brass cock, and had had time
to dissolve some metal. The water for the second aquarium con-
tained the residue of that water which had been enclosed in the pipe.
But the water for the third aquarium came streaming directly from
the well and was in contact with the lead pipes and brass cock for
such a short time that it dissolved practically no metal. To prove his
theory, Von Nigeli dropped a copper twopenny piece in a liter glass
container of water that was pure and free from any trace of metal.
He let it stand for four days, then filled the aquarium with healthy
green filaments of spirogyra. Within one minute all the algae had
died.
In fact, copper has so toxic an effect on algae that it is a very
simple matter to remove all the green slime from a large pond.
One needs only to attach to a rowboat a bag of copper sulphate and
then drag it through the pond several times.
1 This paper was written while the author was engaged in research as a National Re-
search Fellow in the biological sciences at the Smithsonian Institution.
373
374 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Although we all dislike algae in our drinking water, they are of
use to modern science. For algae, the tiny celled organisms that
make up green pond scum, contain in each little cell some of the
green pigment called chlorophyll. It is this pigment that 1s most
essential to both the plant and the animal world. Not only the
food which plants themselves use but the food of man and all other
animals comes from plants. The manufacture of this food is made
possible by the chlorophyll in the presence of light.
This green pigment is present in higher plants, for example in
the leaves of the oak tree and lettuce, just as it is found in the algae
which are lower plants. A small amount of it is contained in each
little cell, millions of which constitute a leaf. All cells divide and
redivide many times. In the leaf the cells remain united to in-
crease the size of the leaf as a whole, but in the unicellular algae
the cells are separate. Many algal cells are so tiny thaf one single
cell filled with green chlorophyll can be distinguished only under
a microscope.
Scientists in their search to discover the effect of light, tempera-
ture, humidity, nutrition, and poisons on plants and chlorophyll find
that often a higher plant composed of millions of united cells pre-
sents complications that hinder research. Since physicists and
biologists have cooperated to study the mechanism of the plant cell,
very intricate and delicate pieces of apparatus have been devised.
Cells combined in tissue do not always give a correct indication of the
processes that take place in the growing plant, for no matter how
carefully the tissue is removed from the plant, the cells are harmed
and will not long continue to live. But a single-celled alga carries
on all the life processes in its one cell, so that it can be moved from
its normal habitat and placed in conditions for experimentation with
the assurance that it is registering its reaction to them. The single
cell has two other advantages. The less complicated the organism,
the less individuality it presents; also, the smaller the organism, the
greater the number of organisms on which observations can be based.
Both these factors tend to reduce uncertainties due to individual
differences.
When a drop of water from a pond green with slime is examined
under the microscope it is astonishing to see that the drop is a tiny
world in itself. For not only are bright green cells of algae present,
but also star-shaped and moon-shaped diatoms, bright yellow and
orange yeast cells, infinitesimally small bacteria moving so fast that
the eye can scarcely perceive their shape, long blue-green ribbons
of multicellular algae, and a tangle of fungous cells. There are ani-
mals, too—transparent paramoecia turning and twisting, and jelly-
like amoebae flowing about, all trying to engulf the plant cells. The
OULTIVATING ALGAE—MEIER 375
same struggle for existence is taking place in the drop of water
that occurs in our own world.
It is impossible to determine the reactions of an alga to external
conditions such as nutrition, temperature, light, and humidity when
it is growing in a culture with different algae or other organisms.
For although the tares were allowed to grow with the wheat until
the harvest, they undoubtedly harmed the crop by reducing the
amount of nutrient and crowding out the less robust wheat plants.
And when growing with other organisms, the alga chosen for study
may fare as the seed that fell among the thorns. If a standard solid
milieu or substratum is chosen on which each alga is grown sep-
arately, the alga can derive full benefit from the nutrient conditions,
but if bacteria or yeasts are allowed to grow in a culture (the me-
dium of nutrition for the development of an organism) with an alga,
it is quite probable that they will act upon the nutrients so as either
to stimulate or harm the growth of the alga. Fungi are the worst
foes of pure cultures, for if once they enter the culture the alga is
soon completely overgrown by them. As algae grow more slowly
than fungi, bacteria, or yeast, they run a greater risk of contamina-
tion. Algal cells are often coated with bacteria. The culture me-
dium must be as unfavorable as possible to the growth of both
bacteria and fungi, yet so constituted that it will not injure the
delicate algal cells. The most rigid care must be employed in the
preparation of sterile culture media.
In the time of Kiitzing and Von Nigeli, who contributed largely to
our early knowledge of algae, the boundaries between genus, species,
and variety were not very clearly defined. Many of the lower forms
of green algae such as Chlorella, Protococcus, Cystococcus, and Chla-
mydomonas are so similar when found growing together in a pond
or a swamp that even with the aid of the highest power of the
microscope it is practically impossible to distinguish between them.
But when cells of each one of these forms are separated and grown
on solid media of similar concentration of nutrients, the colonies
that develop by a division of cells show striking dissimilarities.
These differences may occur in color, size, shape, and consistency of
the colony, which is composed of millions of similar cells of the same
species and variety.
There have been three corresponding conflicts in the botany of
lower plants; in fungi, in bacteria, and in algae. The same issue
has been at stake in each one, which resulted in the adoption and
development of a scientific method for the study of lower organisms—
the pure culture method.
In algology, as in the fields of bacteriology and mycology, the
classification of algae, bacteria, and fungi was originally based on
376 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
knowledge gained by direct observation. The need of isolation of
a single individual for the study of its hfe history and independent
reaction to such external conditions as light, temperature, humidity,
and nutrition was very slowly realized by the algologists. Just as
in bacteriology and mycology, polymorphism, the idea that lower
forms of algae change into higher forms of algae during their
development, caused confusion in efforts toward classification. For
instance, the round cells of Protococcus were claimed to change into
the long, slender, needlelike cells of Raphidium at some stage of their
existence. Pleurococcus, a unicellular form, was even accused of
disguising itself for some reason as Siigeoclonium, a multicellular
branching filamentous form. In 1896 Klebs pointed out the fallacy
of these classifications by indicating that if Pleuwrococcus vulgaris
could change into a Stigeoclonium, it should be classified with the
branched filamentous algae, but if as claimed, Pleurococcus were a
degenerate form of a Stigeoclonium, the latter should be considered
an independent unicellular alga. Klebs emphasized the necessity
of direct observation of the alga growing in pure culture if the
exact determination of its life cycle were to be ascertained.
Famintzin in 1871 was the first person to grow algae in water
cultures. The work of Knop and Stohmann with phanerograms
in inorganic salt solution as well as the experiments carried on by
Pasteur and Rolin on lower fungi inspired him to place cells of
an alga that he had selected for study in hanging drops of solutions
of inorganic salts on a microscope slide. A solution that has proved
admirably fitted in nutritive value to the growth of the algae is
a modified Knop solution made up in the following proportions and
then diluted to one-third:
Caletume@enitra te” 22 = a ee eee 1.00 gram
Potassinmuchlorides 222s a ee ee 0.25 do
Mafconesitim! sulphates): ee eee 0.25 do
Potassium acid phosphate_—--——~_-_--___-- = 0.25 do
Distilled water 2222" a Eee ee il liter
Merric chlorides 2useeath ea see eee a trace
Tf the algae are grown in cotton-stoppered glass flasks holding 100
or 200 cubic centimeters of this liquid solution, and at the same time
on solid medium made by adding 2 per cent agar plus 2 per cent
glucose to the mineral solution, an excellent idea can be formed of
the behavior of the individual algae in solution as well as of the dis-
tinctive characteristics of each colony of algae on solid medium. As
the immigrant placed for the first time in his new environment has
the greatest difficulty in adjusting himself to the change in diet, so
the alga reacts to a similar change. On solid media the colonies form
disks that vary from green to bright orange in color, that are gelat-
CULTIVATING ALGAE—MEIER 377
inous, button-shaped, or irregular in numerous other ways. A de-
signer could easily find original ideas for buttons or prints from these
colonial formations of millions of cells of the same species. (See
pl. 1.)
In the solid medium described above, mineral salts and sugar are
not in equilibrium, consequently striking differences in the reactions
of the different species of algae show up very clearly. The cells
in the colonies differ somewhat from each other owing to the fact
that the colonies are composed of all ages of cells; old ones that per-
haps developed directly from the original inoculum beside new cells
that resulted from division to-day or yesterday. The cells varying
in age produce different excretions which modify their growth and
development. The disks of cells, as a rule growing centrifugally,
attain a size that varies with the different species, owing to the accu-
mulation of excretions and the growing concentration of the medium
caused by loss of water. Some species grow deep down into the agar
medium, while in others the cells are piled upon each other to form
little peaks, possibly because they are seeking better aeration.
Another method found to be valuable for comparative studies of
algae makes use of porous clay cups. (See pl. 2.) As Livingston
(1908) describes, the porous cup after being sterilized in the auto-
clave or steam pressure cooker is filled with the nutrient solution
desired, stoppered with a perforated rubber stopper and connected
by a tube through the latter with a flask of the solution placed at
a lower level. It was found necessary to place the flask of solution
connected with the porous cup of solution in the autoclave for a
second sterilization. At the same time a glass jacket, larger by 2
centimeters in diameter than the porous cup, was sterilized in the
autoclave. Immediately on opening the autoclave, the giass jacket
was placed over the porous cup and stoppered with sterile cotton
at the base of the rubber cork. The whole apparatus was then sup-
ported by a ringstand and allowed to cool. The jacket was removed
long enough to allow the quick inoculation on the cup of several dif-
ferent algae. The differences in growth, color, and consistency of
the algae for the nutrient solution used were plainly visible through
the glass shell. Because of the careful sterilization and by keeping
the cup closed inside the glass jacket, it was possible for the algae
to grow vividly on the cup for a month’s time without signs of
contamination.
The first successful attempt at isolating and growing algae in
pure culture that has been’ recorded in the literature was made by
Beyerinck (1890). He boiled some ditch water with 10 per cent
gelatin, allowed it to cool, and then mixed with it a drop of water
containing numerous unicellular green algae. Small algal colonies
378 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
soon appeared on the gelatin, so that successful transfers of two
species of algae, Scenedesmus acutus Meyen and Chlorella vulgaris
Bey. were made to other media.
One of the earliest methods employed for isolating algae was to
pour a drop of water containing the algal cell desired for study in a
20 per cent gelatin solution or a 1.5 per cent agar solution which had
been slightly cooled but not sufficiently cooled for solidification in a
petri dish. By growing the culture in north light and observing it
day by day under the microscope, algal cells were soon seen to sepa-
rate from the original colony. These cells could be removed with a
loop of fine platinum wire and placed in a new plate of sterile media.
Kriiger (1894), Tischutkin (1897), and Ward (1899) were among
other early workers to obtain pure cultures of algae by plating in
agar or gelatin. Chodat and his pupils (1902) isolated species by
placing pieces of sterilized unglazed porcelain in contact with a
mineral nutrient solution. Repeated transfers were made to fresh
sterile plates until a pure culture was obtained. In cases where there
were a few algal cells among numerous bacterial and fungous cells,
they used a mineral nutrient solution that was favorable to the
growth of the algae and unfavorable to other organisms.
Pringsheim (1926) advocates silica-gel plates for isolating differ-
ent species. Van den Honert’s (1930) modification of his formula
is highly satisfactory. Water glass is diluted to a specific gravity
of 1.08 by means of a hydrometer. ‘Ten cubic centimeters of this
fluid is added to 7 cubic centimeters of normal hydrochloric acid
and quickly mixed. ‘The mixture is poured into petri dishes, where
it gelatinizes immediately. The plates should be washed in running
tap water for one day to wash out any remaining hydrochloric acid,
then washed with distilled water and covered with nutrient solution.
After 24 hours, the nutrient salts having penetrated into the silica-
gel, the remaining solution should be poured off. Place a drop of the
water containing the alga in sterile solution and pour it over the
silica-gel plate. After a few moments pour off the water. Within
two weeks’ time the green algal cells will appear growing on the
silica-gel and they may then be transferred to other sterile plates,
repeating until a pure culture is obtained. On these silica-gel plates
there is an even smaller development of bacteria and fungi than on
agar plates.
The method that produces the most satisfactory results is that of
placing about 10 cubic centimeters of the pond water containing the
cells in 100 cubic centimeters of the solution described above. After
several days, 10 cubic centimeters of this solution may be placed in
sterile solution. When this has been repeated several times, a drop
of the latest inoculated solution may be grown on the agar medium.
CULTIVATING ALGAE—MEIER 379
It will be necessary to reinoculate subsequent agar plates before the
pure culture of the alga is obtained. Often a year’s time and
endless patience are required before the pure culture is secured.
By the monoculture method, a single cell is selected from a drop
of medium as it rests on the slide of the microscope. Refined tech-
nique is necessary to operate the micromanipulator which removes
the cell and places it in sterile culture medium.
The great majority of the forms isolated in pure culture are uni-
cellular green algae belonging to the Protococcales. Only a few mul-
ticellular or filamentous green algae, and some blue-green algae have
been successfully isolated so that they will grow on culture media
for any length of time.
A number of modern workers have found pure cultures of algae
indispensable in their attempts to discover the effect of different min-
eral salts on the nutrition of the algae. The effect of light on algae
is steadily growing to be an important field of investigation.
Chodat (1929), the Swiss algologist, with untiring zeal and bound-
less energy, has collected algae from the red snow at the summit of
the Alps to the basin of the Rhone. From cascades, pools, lakes,
and swamps, he has hunted the algae which form a part of his col-
lection of over 400 varieties of algae in pure culture. He has ably
demonstrated that in a population of algae that appear homogeneous
from a morphological point of view there are many physiological
and morphological races. Once selected, the descendants of a single
cell may maintain themselves unaltered and constant for a great num-
ber of generations. He emphasizes that the evolutionary cycle and
variation can not be studied in these forms without starting from
a single cell.
Otto Warburg (1928), the German professor who was awarded the
Nobel Prize in medicine for 1931, utilized pure cultures of Chlorella
vulgaris and other closely related unicellular green algae for his work
on photosynthesis and cellular respiration. The study of normal
respiration can only be possible by avoiding any permanent injury to
the cells. The unicellular green algae lend themselves admirably to
this study as the mechanism of photosynthesis is complete in the tiny
unicellular individual with its green chloroplasts. The work would
be difficult and even impossible if not carried on in pure culture since
the presence of bacteria or other organisms might modify or stimu-
late the physiological processes within the algal cell.
Robert Emerson (1929), an American student of Warburg, has
done noteworthy work on the function of chlorophyll in photosyn-
thesis in the algae.
Van den Honert (1930), of Holland, used the filamentous alga
Hormidium in pure culture for intensive study of the assimilation
velocity of carbon dioxide.
380 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Here at the Smithsonian Institution we have a collection of numer-
ous unicellular green algae in pure culture. In the Division of Radia-
tion and Organisms we are using these algae for investigations relat-
ing to the effects of light of different intensities and different wave
lengths. All the experiments are being carried on with the under-
lying purpose of making the work strictly quantitative. Up to this
time, the lack of suflicient physical data has made the results of simi-
jar research doubtful and often impossible to repeat or corroborate.
The use of delicate thermocouples makes possible exact measurement
of the intensity of the light as it falls on the organisms. All the
light filters used have been carefully measured for their specific trans-
missions and ingenious devices have been skillfully built for quantita-
tive measurement of the growth and development of the green cells
subjected to the various lights.
An algal spectrogram (pl. 3) showing the lethal action of ultra-
violet light has been obtained by growing unicellular green algae in
pure culture on an agar-coated plate. Similar plates were exposed
to different regions of ultra-violet ight in a large quartz spectrograph
for periods of time varying from 6 minutes to 18 hours. In the
regions of ultra-violet beyond 3022 A., the approximate limit of
ultra-violet irradiation in nature, the green algal cells were killed.
Decolorized lines appeared on the green algal plate for the lines 3022,
2967, 2894, 2804, 2758, 2699, 2652, and 2536 A. Wave lengths longer
than 3022 A., that is, wave lengths 3130, 3341, and 3650 A., had no
appreciable lethal effect on the algae. Yet by the thermocouple
measurements a greater intensity of light was directed on the cultures
at wave lengths 3130 and 3650 A. Experiments are now being car-
ried on with exposures of varying time and intensity to determine
more completely the lethal effectiveness of the different wave lengths,
also to investigate the possibility of a stimulative effect on the growth
of the algae for small doses of the different wave lengths.
Another experiment has been designed for the simultaneous deter-
mination of the effect of four intensities of light on 18 different uni-
cellular green algae growing for a month or more in exactly similar
conditions of medium, temperature, and light. The different strains
of algae vary as radically in their reaction to these external condi-
tions as do other organisms under diversified environmental condi-
tions. It was found that some varieties grow better at a low light
intensity than at a high one; some like intermittent light better than
continuous light. One variety refused to grow in any of the light
intensities provided.
In a similar manner, one variety of algae is submitted to light of
different wave lengths, in an effort to determine the optimum condi-
tion for the development and growth of the cells.
CULTIVATING ALGAE—MEIER 381
In this paper I have not attempted to mention all the scientists
who have contributed to our present knowledge of algology. The
student who has collected a bottle of pond water and is eager to
classify its contents as he selects his algae for pure culture will find
assistance and pleasure in the works of such men as Chodat (1913),
Wolle (1887), Pascher (1927), West and Fritsch (1927), Wille (1897),
Collins (1909), and many others.
Algae can be found growing everywhere, for they can exist under
very varied temperature conditions. Ponds, lakes, rivers, waterfalls,
bogs, rain pools, ditches, wet rocks, damp ground, tree trunks, and
fence posts are some of the places where they may be observed. ‘The
infinite pains and boundless patience required to obtain an alga in
pure culture are fully recompensed by the satisfaction of watching a
beautiful green or orange button-shaped colony composed of millions
of cells develop from one or a few cells whose presence in a drop of
water could only be detected by the use of the microscope.
SELECTED LITERATURE FOR THE STUDY OF ALGAE
BENECKE, W.
1898. Uber Kulturbedingungen einiger Algen. Bot. Zeit., vol. 56, pt. 5,
pp. 83-96.
BEYERINCK, M. W.
1890. Culturversuche mit Zoochlorellen, Lichengonidien und anderen
niederen Algen. Bot. Zeit., vol. 48, pp. 725-739, 741-754, 757-768, 781-785.
CHopatT, R.
1902. Algues vertes de la Suisse. Beitr. Kryptogamenflora Schweiz, vol. 1,
pt. 3., Zurich.
1913. Monographies d’Algues en Culture Pure in Matériaux pour la flore
cryptogamique suisse. Berne.
1929. La mutation généralisée et les mutations chez le Chlorella rubescens
Chod. Arch. Sci. Phys. Nat., ser. 5, vol. 11, pp. 31-88. Geneva.
COLLINS, FRANK SHIPLEY.
1909. The Green Algae of North America. Tufts Coll. Studies, vol. 2,
No. 3.
Cooxr, M. C.
1882. British Fresh Water Algae. London.
EMERSON, ROBERT.
1927. The Effect of Certain Respiratory Inhibitors on the Respiration of
Chlorella. Journ. Gen. Phys., vol. 10, pp. 469-477.
1929. Chlorophyll Content and Rate of Photosynthesis. Proc. Nat. Acad.
Sci., vol. 15, pp. 281-284.
1929. Relation between Maximum Rate of Photosynthesis and Concentra-
tion of Chlorophyll. Journ. Gen. Phys., vol. 12, pp. 609-622.
1929. Photosynthesis as a Function of Light Intensity and of Temperature
with Different Concentrations of Chlorophyll. Journ. Gen. Phys., vol. 12,
pp. 623-629.
1930. The Chlorophyll Factor in Photosynthesis. Amer. Nat., vol. 64,
pp. 252-260.
382 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
FAMINTZIN, A.
1871. Die anorganischen Salze als ausgezeichnetes Hiilfsmittel zum
Studium der Entwickelung niederer chlorophyllhaltiger Organismen.
Mélanges Biologiques, Akad. Nauk, vol. 8, pp. 226-281. Leningrad.
KLEBS, GEORG.
1896. Bedingungen der Fortpflanzung bei einigen Algen und Pilzen, pp.
169-187. Jena.
Krteer, WILHELM.
1894. Beitriige zur Kenntniss der Organismen des Saftflusses (sog. Schleim-
flusses) der Laubbaume. Beitr. Physiol. Morph. nied. Organismen, vol. 4,
pp. 69-116.
Kurzine, FE. T.
1849. Species algarum. Leipzig.
1849-1856. Tabulae Phycologicae, vols. 1-6. Nordhausen.
Livineston, Burton BH.
1908. A New Method for Cultures of Algae and Mosses. Plant World,
vol. 11, pp. 183-184.
Merrer, FLORENCE EH.
1929. Recherches expérimentales sur la formation de la carotine chez les
algues vertes unicellulaires et sur la production de la gelée chez un
Stichoeoccus (S. mesenteroides). Bull. Soc. Bot. Genéve, vol. 21, pt. 1,
pp. 161-197.
1932. The Lethal Action of Ultra-violet Light on a Unicellular Green Alga.
Smithsonian Mise. Coll., vol. 87, no. 10, publ. 3173.
Mo.uiscH, HANS.
1895. Die Hrnihung der Algen. Sitzungsh. K. Akad. Wiss., Math. Nat. KL,
vol. 104, Abt. 1, pt. 1, pp. 788-800. Vienna.
OLTMANNS, F'RIEDERICH.
1922. Morphologie und Biologie der Algen, vol. 1. Jena.
PASCHER, A.
1927. Die Siisserwasser-Flora Deutschlands, Osterreichs und der Schweiz,
pt. 4. Jena.
PRINGSHEIM, ERNST G.
1912. Kulturversuche mit chlorophyllfitihrenden Mikro-organismen. Mitt.
1, Die Kultur von Algen in Agar. Beitr. Biol. Pflanzen, vol. 11, pp.
305-334.
1926. Kulturversuche mit chlorophyllfiihrenden Mikro-organismen. Mitt.
5, Methoden und Erfahrungen. Beitr. Biol. Pflanzen, vol. 14, pp. 2838-311.
RIcHTER, O.
1911. Die Erniihrung der Algen. Leipzig.
ScHRAMM, JACOB R.
1914. Some Pure Culture Methods in the Algae. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard.,
vol. 1, pp. 23-45.
TISCHUTKIN, N.
1897. Ueber Agar-Agarkulturen einiger Algen und Amdben. Centralbl.
Bakt., vol. 2, pt. 8, pp. 183-188. Jena.
VAN DEN HOonert, T. H.
1930. Carbon Dioxide Assimilation and Limiting Factors. Rec. Trav. Bot.
Neerland., vol. 27, pp. 149-286. Utrecht.
von NAGEL, C.
1848. Gattungen einzelliger Algen. Zurich.
1893. Ueber oligodynamische Erscheinungen in lebenden Zellen. Neue
Denkschr. Allg. Schweiz. Ges., vol. 33, pp. 1-51.
CULTIVATING ALGAE—MEIER 383
WARBURG, OTTO.
1928. Katalytische Wirkungen der lebendigen Substanz. Berlin.
Warp, H. MARSHALL.
1899. Some Methods for Use in the Culture of Algae. Ann. Bot., vol. 18,
pp. 5638-566.
West, G. S., and Frrrscu, F. E.
1927. A Treatise on the British Fresh-water Algae. Cambridge.
Wits, J. N. F.
1897. Chlorophyceae. Jn Wngler and Prantl, Die nattirlichen Pflanzen-
familien, vol. 1, Abt. 2, pp. 1-175.
WoLteE, F.
1887. Fresh-water Algae of the United States. Bethlehem, Pa.
7
|
|
¢
a
Wand
i
; 7 Ace it
Lae Un een
7 Be eo a NS tak
“Becn ex, Lise
i of
# iar nian, -&,
LR eta ent
iitiviem Tn
St LIER ana
RAGA, Ui oS
(ou, te Sagem ‘diag apie ebcicn bat aan
1 Lert eta. ralhwsien® dees ad chime s
wEuTe SRR “Al
oe area at es shes ah |
aie i dasitoldiod saute bathe orl) Yo srt vated deuet om
bal oa eo, Lees pte
kn Etat Latilue Phy aueteae, wea 2. UarPha wet,
rls Maeran. * 7
ry , Sow Mylinty (oe Unpltuea qf. Abeee Cane ‘Sa ae Pwo Weed.
o7) TH. LA 4S
Cred! oS Le = at y
ye Pete te Me alll eke itil el) Lae | forgtaus hes Wie (ote t/Sisnee OFM len
dws oth Gow stininleed ot pee ta peecueniue OR ty patie cen ee
SHivhiee ty ¢ih nem bevy ute) bio, Seyi Be Lriretty Ve a pt hale
ee ft ie i.
1A eco Cathal S Sem vt ULipio tated Cae ey eo US Guide Lar Ts
; Aiiieten bis: oul, 2 he TH, GRRE OT. “a
yy Ses ye ver Algo, Stetournh. SO Alteak Wile Se
6) 708, Ay Ue A pe ea mah
Cire se, Terre aby
A ie « Mcrioetod Ai Gog Des ee nA, 3 SEDs
pers) } a So Sara Loaicmiands Creer ed aS! aia Che sete
Patenchara, ‘Wea
bar Th UY 2) Gee eh bee C6 he Gea iierwnbacttieiae aie :
6 Dy glee oe oe) ae ape «= Ei Rae eee ey
Ay 2a < '
iii Molt ieee Avi ER aien Aiin area Mier) Alias
\, Moitasten. geal Tor Ti ‘oon, SYboap ais Oiyte a, Gps MS
At het |
Oo) “TM Toews r i mG, p> ;
7h . :
AiswweXs iw &
i Pad. aie ¢ we 8 RA IH ae RS iro STi, tan, Gabd),
=) titer bpee te regiui=) Sales Algtecune Laitie® ian
ee’, pee ie) De .
vy a Veoves} Th W.
TW Faron ee chesrepiiny knee Aiming Poem ee ve Dat
heel ot, vet a Pr ae “iP
Vow Cla. Ci ; hi
PG. Coltatizen clomallineg Algew Saricty |
ae, eer oigudty iting ioe bo ereuteeanaes ty beta rai
Dwnbecls, Adie. nebnwete, Chih: in, Bly va sahil _
- H i“
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Meier PLATE 1
PURE CULTURES OF SIX UNICELLULAR GREEN ALGAE GROWING ON AGAR
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Meier PLATE 2
SIX VARIETIES OF ALGAE GROWING ON A POROUS CLAY CUP
INCLOSED IN A GLASS SHELL
“$[[90 peZIIo[ooep pu Pop JO svore OY) fe JO[OIA-vA}[N OY} WI “Vy 7z0'E PUR geg'z UDEMJoq SMOIFZeI HOLT Sif J,
WNYLOAdS DOYW AYNDYAW NO GSaSOdWIYAdNS WVYSDOYLOAdS WO1V
€ ALVv1d JI12J\J—'7E6| ‘Wodey urruosyywiG
THE PRESENT STATUS OF LIGHT THERAPY ?*
SCIENTIFIC AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS
By Encar MAyeEr, M. D.
Saranac Lake, N. Y.
[With 1 plate]
Although there is much information concerning results of irra-
diating man and animals, explanations and indisputable generaliza-
tions are sadly lacking. When it is realized that even in photochem-
ical reactions the physical process is not completely understood, the
difficulty of explanation in biology and clinical medicine becomes
more evident. No single explanatory hypothesis for the results
ascribed to light action can yet be formulated, as there is great neea
of data obtained under definitely controlled conditions of dosage,
intensity, and wave lengths in normal and in abnormal organisms.
There is a lack of agreement between the practical and thera-
peutic results and the scientific and experimental observations. Ex-
periments have been carried out for the most part on healthy men
and animals, whereas usually the practical results have been ob-
tained on the sick. The abnormal organism is much more sensitive.
Diseased tissue may vary from normal in sensitiveness to radiation.
The animal skin is not perhaps comparable to the same organ in
man (as, for example, in exposing shaved guinea pigs to sunlight,
it is most difficult to produce erythema). In many reports the im-
portance of sky radiation has been ignored, whereas it is possible
that the beneficial effects of sunlight are in a great measure due to
its luminous and infra-red portions.? It has been shown at Davos
(Switzerland) that the radiation from the whole sky in summer has
almost four times more ultra-violet shorter than the wave length
366 millimicrons than direct sunlight? and at Mount Wilson sky
light was found to be several times richer in violet and ultra-violet
than was direct sunlight.* Hence, although the intrinsic brightness
1 Reprinted by permission from The Journal of the American Medical Association, vol.
98, pp. 221-230, Jan. 16, 1932.
2Dorno, Carl, Studien tiber Luft und Licht im Hochgebirge, Brunswick, 1911.
3 Dorno, Carl, Physik der Sonnen- und Himmelstrahlung, Strahlentherapie, 1919.
4Pettit, Hdison, The Comparative Physical Properties of Sunlight and Light from
Artificial Sources, Trans, 24th annual meeting, National Tuberculosis Association.
385
386 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
of a small area of the sky is much lower than direct sunlight, since
the solid angle subtended by the whole visible sky is 92,000 times
that subtended by the sun, the integrated amount of ultra-violet
from the whole sky is very appreciable.
The sun, with its accompanying factors of environment, can hardly
be compared to artificial sources of light. The exact physiologic
effects of light or of the air bath alone are not clearly understood,
nor is the effect of light on single cells. In application, dosage has
been difficult to control, and marked variation in the effects comes
from a small stimulative or a larger destructive dose of light. Simi-
larly. the technic of application with most workers has been different.
Published experiments lack specific details in many instances, espe-
cially those pertaining to the spectrum, such as its limits and the dis-
tribution and the character of the radiant energy employed. ‘These
must be defined accurately instead of attributing results merely to
“ yltra-violet energy.” Perhaps this is the cause of the contradictory
nature of many of the results published.
Many claims made for the use of radiation are still based on empiric
results, and practical applications have been made without scientific
support, chiefly because the action of radiation on the living cell is
not clearly understood and the fundamental principles of the bio-
physics and physiology of radiant energy are still unsolved. Per-
haps when monochromatic sources of ultra-violet energy in sufficient
intensity have become available to repeat experiments, more exact
information will be obtained. To name two specific reactions of
exact wave lengths, one may cite the ordinary erythema or sunburn
production and the direct production of antirachitic effect. Aside
from these, despite claims, the exact wave lengths alleged to increase
hemoglobin, prevent or cure the common cold, and cure forms of
extrapulmonary tuberculosis, or even superficial ulcers, have not been
established.
So it is evident that confusion must still exist. Controversies
constantly take place between the proponents of the use of sunlight
and those of artificial sources. The value of sunlight for one form of
disease against another, for instance pulmonary tuberculosis as
against the extrapulmonary forms, is a subject for debate. The ad-
vantages of different artificial sources of energy are still open ques-
tions. The workers in high altitudes are still enthusiastic in ex-
pounding their clinical results in contrast to those in the lowlands.
This difference of opinion appears in part due to the fact that, in
the development of the use of light for disease, only empiric results
were known for many years before accepted laboratory evidence was
produced which placed light therapy on a seientific basis. The broad
scope, therefore, of this whole field will allow me only brief reference
to such fundamental facts.
LIGHT THERAPY—-MAYER 387
SOME PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF LIGHT
Workers vary in their divisions of the ultra-violet into the near or
long ultra-violet and the far or short ultra-violet. Clinicians for
convenience often term those ultra-violets longer than 290 millimi-
crons (the lower limit of sunlight) as the near or long ultra-violets;
while those shorter than 290 millimicrons are then called the far or
short ultra-violets. This is the designation used in this article. The
boundary line for physicists is often taken at 200 millimicrons be-
cause above this wave length it is possible to use ordinary photo-
graphic plates, quartz lenses and an apparatus open to the atmos-
phere. Below this limit, other means must be used. Some workers
have even based the differentiation on transmission of the rays or the
lack of transmission through window glass, the long or near ultra-
violets penetrating window glass, the far or short being absorbed by
it.
The spectrum of sunlight shows the visible region limited on one
end by infra-red and on the other by ultra-violet rays (fig. 1).
The visible spectrum extends from about 760 to about 390 millimi-
crons. The lower limit of the visible region may vary with different
individuals according to the sensitivity of the retina. The ultra-
violet rays of sunlight extend from about 390 to 290 millimicrons,
and those of clinically used artificial sources from about 390 to below
200 millimicrons. The ultra-violet rays of a source such as the plain
carbon arc of 20 amperes, which has been so frequently used clin-
ically, extend to about 220 millimicrons (the intensity can vary
with amperage and with impregnations in the carbons), while those
of the quartz mercury-vapor are terminate at 185 millimicrons.
All wave lengths of radiation appear to possess some ability to
produce heat and to influence chemical reactions. As a rule, how-
ever, heat production is associated chiefly with the infra-red and
the red rays. Light is associated with the rays from red to violet,
while the most active rays chemically are the ultra-violet. The
green region (500 millimicrons) is strongest in sunlight and best
reflected by chlorophyll.
The infra-red rays longer than 1.4 microns are penetrating except
for water, while the ultra-violet rays shorter than 0.8 micron are
strongly absorbed. The regions of the spectrum vary greatly in
their degree of absorption in different substances.° Water and water
vapor, for instance, absorb infra-red rays to a great extent except
that region close to the visible from about 760 millimicrons to 1.4
microns. The ultra-violet rays lose the greater part of their intensity
in penetrating the atmosphere to reach the lowlands.
pas
5 Aschkinass, E., Zeitschr. fiir Psychologie und Physiologie der Sinnesorgane, vols. 11
and 12, p. 43, 1896. Vogt, A., Schweiz. med. Wehnschr., vol. 55, p. 425, May 14, 1925.
6 Kimball, H. H., Monthly Weather Rev., vol. 47, p. 769, 1919.
149571—33——_26
ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
388
Glasses.—Crystalline quartz and freshly distilled water that has
not been in contact with glass are highly transparent to ultra-violet
rays, in 1 em thickness transmitting about 80 per cent at 200 milli-
wera ~ 98 Shae Te 12) IW
cy rote
PORT U! [[emxeRY H4919 Ag | Aijeonewayey parseydorg
000008
00£ 000 00008 <OTXE
€ WIxe
SABI DIJOUSBUIOI}NI[9 JO VsuByY—T AOD
SAAVM SIL3SNOVNOULIITAZ JO JONVY
ea aa
oT] wal | i
I te ee ae I | a oot or tiene
n | | | | La a)
or 195 rag eI
PAG * IT “UeL equates
“Buo]
your ge T
seal y
SOAT AM UVIZTHEY, S[OYIIN SA
| &q_ paola
GAR
yay
Bis)
pay eu]
4104S
amazedg 219!8A —
OLX OIXE—OTXE = OTXE OTE HOLXE i OTXE
!
————
O1XS
————— ees
puorag sad °Q “y 21949 09
oO TXS
wd
Q68T ‘8 “AON EAEY XK JO 4a29A0d81p
ysniskyg vee
uadjua0y PesUOy WEIIIT
PEST ~ LOST wloskyg UEULIaH
20H Ydjopny youuleH
92BT ‘Leung - LeLT ‘9 youeyy
ueindg uBuuar
dajoyueneiy uo, ‘idesop
PLET-PIST aki ystpaas
wolye3u,y eBUOr sospuy
OIXS'L
4+
LOIX Gin mente!
ce ed thee,
S9SE A UBIZHOH 3a710Y4S S2ARM WH esuoT
puosas tad saaey
000'000'000'000'N0F = Yu! OOuE/T =
yout ¢6z0000°0 = YoosL Y%
peu a8ues0 1 MOT[aA wap
asuBo
umujsedg ung jo saury sajoyuenesry — yf —
< pew
Bapuy
407 2£6800'000'000'0 = UME 000'000'0T/T = (.¥) UN Wonssuy
WUT 48680'000'000'0 = wu 0N0'O0O'T/T = (nn) Uo afqnoq
WW OOO0TT = (n) Uo T
0008 = OIXE 800" = .01XE
(wrt) sxayaunty ty = 99g X BayDUT
sayouy — LESgo’O x MIMAUNTIN
WV, = HUQ woaBuy wy sysueT Onn AA
ee
peoquayo,
OL SGenn Me
OIXE
tueipay ‘osrwedye,
‘TEGT ‘9z6r TMISWY *S 'N Aq 3q3UAdOD
eyrum .VOOzs J
aes
uostivdim0g
ar = say oUEny |
LW
y — "i 1000007 *t
Jad 190" lool
‘or
S9AEM
OM “Vd
40
PIA PAIN be qs? ot
uoreuojdxq
4apuy:
ore —70t ig SaTXE al £— oO TXE"
orke +O1X8 - ws
—4-—_____.
SAAB I2[O1A E1711) WEHOYS
Puoseg sed soaeyy
000'000'000'000‘¢89 = 00069/T =!
+VOO8F = YU! 6910000°0
a i — al a ae
OA5990 IPA 539-09" = .V OOZE 9[¥>g BonsedmCD
Unpeds o1q51A 40 ,V OOS 94¢FPO [MY
aque than crystalline quartz to
e op
ass seems mor
tz gl
ar
Qu
wave lengths less than 240 millimicrons.
micr
ons.
The ultra-violet trans-
parency of fluorite varies considerably from sample to sample, some
LIGHT THERAPY—MAYER 389
specimens, from 2 to 3 mm in thickness, transmitting as low as 80 per
cent at 230 millimicrons. Ordinary window glass absorbs practically
all ultra-violet radiations shorter than 320 millimicrons. Certain
kinds of specially prepared glass transmit varying percentages of
ultra-violet rays; clean vitaglass 2 mm in thickness, for example,
transmits 75 per cent of the ultra-violet rays at 320, 25 per cent at
290, and about 5 per cent at 270 millimicrons. At normal incidence
about 9 per cent of the energy between 700 and 400 millimicrons is
lost on account of the reflection of light at the surfaces of the glass,
increasing to 20 per cent for an angle of incidence of 60°." Most
window glasses which are made especially for transmitting short
wave length ultra-violet radiation season for the first few weeks of
usage, losing a certain amount of transparency to ultra-violet.
When this point is reached, the transmissibility is fixed and per-
manent, and they still transmit an effective quantity and quality of
ultra-violet light for antirachitic effect. This has been shown for
December in New York City with three hours’ daily exposure in the
middle of the day. Corex-D glass (Corning, N. Y., Glass Works)
transmits the solar ultra-violet rays more fully than other glasses
except quartz, but its cost still makes its use prohibitive for any but
research purposes.
Various thin and porous cloths treated with thin films of paraffin,
and wire mesh screens filled with celluloidinous material transmit
the solar ultra-violet and visible radiations very well, especially
when these materials are freshly prepared. The ultra-violet rays
between 320 and 290 millimicrons are probably the best pigment-
producing rays; because of their absorption by window glass it
becomes difficult to tan behind such glass. Sand, snow, ice, and
water increase the intensity of the ultra-violet by reflection; however,
the dense humidity over bodies of water may intercept the reflected
ultra-violet rays.
SOME BIOLOGIC EFFECTS OF LIGHT
Red and infra-red rays if of sufficient intensity produce an im-
mediate hyperemia, which, however, soon disappears after the
cessation of the irradiation. Infra-red rays longer than 1.4 microns,
it has been shown, are more likely, through their superficial absorp-
tion, to produce cutaneous blisters in animals; those shorter than
1.4 microns penetrate the skin. The visible rays provoke vision,
heat, and metabolic changes; ° the red rays are able to elevate sub-
cutaneous temperature as much as 3° C. without causing bodily
7 Coblentz, W. W., and Stair, R., Bur. Standards Journ. Res., vol. 3, p. 629, 1929.
§ Eddy, W. H., Report from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City, Oct.
9, 1929. Eddy, W. H., Science, vol. 68, p. 13, 1928.
®Sonne, Carl, Arch. Physical Therapy, vol. 10, p. 239, June, 1929.
390 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
fever. The infra-red and visible rays produce, through heating, a
dilatation of superficial capillaries and an increased blood flow and
exudation of lymph;?° but, apart from their heating effect, the
rays do not destroy cells except when cells which have been sensitized
by such substances as eosin and hematoporphyrin are exposed to
visible rays." Their heat effects may aid the action of the ultra-
violet rays on body cells.
The heating effect of visible and near infra-red rays must be mild
on account of the small absorption in the epidermis and the strong
convection by the blood stream. The heat produced by the far
infra-red is slowly conducted to the deeper layers and up to the sur-
face and carried away by the blood stream and air. Temporary
heat erythema is not strictly local, in contrast to the delayed ery-
thema of sunburn, which is limited sharply to the exposed area, due
to local tissue changes of the nature of degeneration of the prickle
cell layer resulting in capillary stasis, diapedesis of leukocytes, and
other signs of inflammation to the degree of blistering. Higher tem-
peratures have produced increased oxygen consumption and greater
local acidity of tissue, which can cause vascular dilatation.
Irritation of the skin gives rise to three responses; namely, local
vasodilation, a wheal, and finally, under severe action, a local edema
and blistering. This triple response, according to Lewis, is provoked
directly by a substance (H) similar to, if not identical with, his-
tamine. The primary effect of irradiation in producing evidences
of inflammation has been concluded by some to be an injury to the
capillary endothelium; by others this is considered secondary to
irritation by the toxic products of prickle cell degeneration.
Blister production that results from great increase of permeability
may serve a protective function, since the fluid absorbs greatly in
the region of 280 millimicrons.”
Ultra-violet rays are rapidly absorbed, in most part, by tissues
of a depth of less than 1 mm and produce marked chemical changes.
In penetrating through human skin visible and near infra-red
rays are strongly absorbed by the blood of the corium and sub-
cutaneous layers. The local heating effect is rather mild on account
of the small absorption in the epidermis and the strong convection
by the blood stream. The far infra-red has little penetrating power,
most of it being absorbed in the epidermis.** The heat produced is
slowly conducted away by the blood stream and by air. Overex-
10 Hausmann, Walther, and Sonne, Carl, Strahlentherapie, vol. 25, p. 174, 1927.
11 Hess, A. F., The Ultra-violet Rays of the Sun, Journ. Amer. Med. Assoc., vol. 84, p.
1033, Apr. 4, 1925.
22 Bachem and Reed, Arch. Physical Therapy, October, 1931, p. 581.
18 Miescher, G., Strahlentherapie, vol. 35, p. 403, 1930.
LIGHT THERAPY—MAYER 391
posure of the germinal layer may lead directly to blistering. There
is greater variation in percentage penetration of ultra-violet than
in other parts of the spectrum. At 280 millimicrons the absorption
in the corneal and prickle cell layers is marked so that the great
antirachitic effect of this wave length must occur in or about these
layers; but on both sides of this band, around 300 millimicrons and
250 millimicrons, the penetration is greater, more radiation reaching
the malpighian layer and corium, thus indicating that erythema
production occurs in the germinal layer of the corium under the
shadow of the upper layers. The corneal and granular layer, there-
fore, must play an important part in the light protection of these
sensitive layers. From 250 millimicrons down the absorption in
the corneal layer increases rapidly and at 200 millimicrons the ab-
sorption is so complete as to prevent any radiation from reaching
the living layers of the skin."
Grotthus’ law states that a chemical reaction can not occur unless
suitable radiations are absorbed. Hemoglobin absorbs ultra-violet
rays as well as many of those of longer wave lengths up to approxi-
mately 450 millimicrons. Blood serum absorbs the ultra-violet rays,
possibly chiefly because of its tyrosine and tryptophan content. The
ultra-violet rays necessary for the prevention and healing of rickets
and the production of erythema are those below the region of about
320 to 313 millimicrons.’® This region defines also the approximate
upper limit of the bactericidal rays, although some experiments
have shown bactericidal action with wave lengths at 365 milli-
microns.!° Ultra-violet rays of sunlight extend in their lowest limit
to 290 millimicrons,” but lamps have some additional bands around
260 millimicrons that produce a fleeting erythema, as well as strong
bactericidal rays at 265 millimicrons (fig. 2).
The brownian movement of protoplasmic colloidal particles ceases
when exposure to ultra-violet rays coagulates the protoplasm.* Egg
and serum globulin have been said to be formed from albumin under
ultra-violet irradiation. Lens albumin previously sensitized by cer-
tain salts, such as calcium, sodium, and magnesium, silicates, or
144 Bachem, A., and Reed, C. I., Amer. Journ. Physiol., vol. 97, p. 86, April, 1931.
% Sonne, Carl, and Rekling, Eigil, Hospitalstid, vol. 70, p. 399, Apr. 28, 1927. Hess,
A. F., and Weinstock, Mildred, A Study of Light Waves in Their Relation to Rickets,
Journ. Amer. Med. Assoc., vol. 80, p. 687, Mar. 10, 1923. Hess, A. F., and Anderson,
W. T., The Antirachitie Activity of Monochromatic and Regional Ultra-violet Radiations,
idem, vol. 89, p. 1222, Oct. 8, 1927.
16 Coblentz, W. W., and Fulton, H. R., A Radiometric Investigation of the Germicidal
Action of Ultra-violet, Amer. Journ. Electroth. & Radiol., vol. 43, p. 251, July, 1925.
17 Sheard, Charles, Ultra-violet Radiatien and Its Transmission by Various Substances,
Journ. Amer. Med. Assoc., vol. 88, p. 1815, Apr. 23, 1927.
18 Burge, W. E., Amer. Journ. Physiol., vol. 43, p. 429, June, 1917. Bovie, W. T., Chem,
Zeitg., vol. 37, p. 1486, 1913.
392 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
dextrose, becomes especially sensitive to ultra-violet radiation.”
Most bacteria are destroyed by rays of certain wave lengths less
than 313 millimicrons, the bactericidal effect being in proportion to
selective absorption.”°
Bactericidal action —Ultra-violet rays impair the growth of path-
ogenic and nonpathogenic bacteria as well as destroy them.** Young
cultures have proved to be more sensitive to the rays than old ones.
The resistance differs in bacterial individuals of the same culture
and in various strains of homogeneous bacteria. The resistance also
appears to be different in various bacterial species. Bacteriophages
rad
Ss
=
fs
ce)
is)
oS
ein
O
AV)
ae
lo
4
AS
0"
asi
Wavelength, Mu: 313 300 290 280) 265 253 240 227 220
Figure 2.—Light effect in percentage of maximum effect: A, curve of skin penetra-
tion; B, curve of erythema (Hausser and Vahle); C, curve of protein light reac-
tion; D, curve of hemolysis; H, curve of paramecia (Sonne)
display a notable sensitiveness to the rays, but ferments resist the
rays better. Bacteria, in dry and pulverized garden earth, have
survived exposure to ultra-violet radiation. Ultra-violet rays may
destroy bacilli on the skin without causing injury to the latter, this
depending much on the individual and local resistance to the rays.
The bactericidal action of ultra-violet rays on organisms present
in the air can be shown.”
1” Burge, W. E., Amer. Journ. Physiol., vol. 36, p. 21, 1915. Hinrichs, M. A., Proc. Soe.
Exper. Biol. and Med., vol. 27, p. 535, March, 1930.
* Gates, F. L., Journ. Gen. Physiol., vol. 14, p. 31, September, 1930.
*1 Stenstrom, Wilhelm, and Gaida, J. B., Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. and Med., vol. 28, p.
898, June, 1931.
2 Winterstein, O., Strahlentherapie, vol. 39, p. 619, 1931.
LIGHT THERAPY—MAYER 393
The simple conclusion that the shorter the wave length of ultra-
violet the greater the bactericidal action is in error, as it has been
shown that there is a characteristic curve of bactericidal effectiveness
for different bacteria, where the striking maximum is between 260
and 270 millimicrons.?° The longer wave lengths limit of direct bac-
tericidal action on Staphylococcus aureus was found to be between
303 and 813 millimicrons. Bactericidal action has been observed at
225 millimicrons. Polarizing of light has no demonstrable effect on
this action. ‘Temperature elevation usually increases the action. The
hydrogen-ion concentration of the environment has no appreciable
effect on the bactericidal reaction between limits of py 4.5 and 7.5.
The use of monochromatic radiation in experiments on paramecia
and on certain bacteria has shown that the bactericidal action is
probably due to a destruction of the protein molecules within the
cell as well as to a lipoid destruction of the surface membrane
(fig. 2). Red blood cells in vitro are hemolysed by ultra-violet
energy, possibly because of increased permeability of the cellular
membrane or of the destruction of the cell stroma or of both.’
Despite the statements of previous workers that the susceptibility of
protoplasm to ultra-violet light is conditioned by the absorption of
the toxic rays by the aromatic amino-acid radicals of the proteins,
still the close reciprocal correspondence between the curve of bac-
tericidal action and the curve of absorption of ultra-violet by the
nuclein derivatives (cystine, thymine, and uracil) promotes the prob-
ability that a single reaction is involved in the lethal action of
ultra-violet.
Protoplasm may be so affected by ultra-violet rays as to become
especially sensitive to heat radiations. The visible manifestations
of tissue hyperemia due to ultra-violet radiation occur only after the
lapse of a certain latent period, two hours or more. There probably
takes place an absorption into the blood of products of tissue injury
or an enhanced absorption of normal tissue products produced by
such injury, with consequent erythema and edema. On repeated
exposures, a pigment, melanin, is generally formed in the basal cells
of the epidermis; this may be due to the action of certain skin
oxidases on a breakdown product of tyrosine.*°
Unicellular organisms are stimulated to certain physiologic changes
such as fission, or they are destroyed by ultra-violet radiation, de-
pending on such factors as the intensity of the irradiation, its penetra-
tive power and the size of the organism. Thus, ultra-violet rays may
ese te hen ate dened SOE 0 arth TOD eee ee
2 Harris and Hoyt, Science, vol. 46, p. 318, 1917.
24 Bovie, W. T., and Klein, A., Journ. Gen. Physiol., vol. 1, p. 331, January, 1919.
% Hinrichs, Marie A., Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. and Med., vol. 26, p. 175, November, 1928.
Bovie, W. T., and Hughes, O. M., Journ. Med. Research, vol. 39, p. 223, November, 1918.
394 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
reach the cell nucleus. Small doses of light appear to have a stimu-
lating action, while large doses produce deferred physiologic changes,
and still larger doses may destroy unicellular organisms. Amebas
that are exposed to ultra-violet rays become strongly phagocyted by
other nonirradiated amebas.**
Melanophores in the scales of fish develop an increased irritability
with a small amount of ultra-violet radiation, while with larger doses
they develop a decreased irritability and eventually die. The con-
tractions are similar to those of smooth muscle. It has been shown
that an increase in tonus of involuntary muscle has taken place after
irradiation with ultra-violet; likewise skeletal muscle shows an in-
crease on such irradiation, these results running parallel to those
obtained with melanophores. The contraction of muscles under
ultra-violet appears to be due to changes in the muscle cell and not to
nerve stimulation.
Cholesterol, a substance found in comparatively large quantities in
the skin, is activated chemically by ultra-violet irradiation. This has
been shown by isolating cholesterol and rendering it antirachitic by
irradiation with ultra-violet rays. It becomes endowed with anti-
rachitic power in an unknown way through the action of the ultra-
violet energy. It has been recently shown that pure cholesterol can
not be rendered antirachitic by the ultra-violet ray. The substance
which is made antirachitic appears to be ergosterol, or an allied sub-
stance which is found in ordinary cholesterol as an impurity. Like-
wise, phytosterol of plants is so activated. Many food products, such
as fats, oils, milk, vegetables and lettuce, may also become endowed
with antirachitic power through exposure to sources of ultra-violet
energy.”’ Ultra-violet irradiation of the pregnant mother renders
her milk antirachitic.2? How this takes place is still a matter of
speculation; knowledge of the exact nature of radiation itself is so
limited that its effects on tissues or food products becomes doubly
difficult to understand. The greenness of many edible plants depends
on several environmental factors, and sunlight in particular.*® Vita-
min A appears to be associated in some way with the greenness; that
is, with the relative development of chlorophyll in the plant. Dry
seeds and etiolated plants are as a rule poor sources of vitamin A.
Mushrooms that thrive in darkness contain little of vitamin A.
°° Mayer, Edgar, Clinical Application of Sunlight and Artificial Radiation, Baltimore,
Williams & Wilkins Co., 1929.
27Sonne, Carl, Arch. Physical Therapy, vol. 10, p. 4, January, 1929. Hess, A. F.,
Antirachitie Activity of Irradiated Cholesterol, Ergosterol and Allied Substances, Journ.
Amer. Med. Assoc., vol. 89, p. 387, July 30, 1927. Steenbock, Harry, and Black, A., Journ.
Biol. Chem., vol. 61, p. 405, September, 1924.
3 Hess, A, F., Weinstock, Mildred, and Sherman, BD., Journ. Biol. Chem., vol. 66, p. 145,
November, 1925.
20 Sherman, H. C., and Smith, S. L., The Vitamins, ed. 2, New York, Chemical Catalog
Co., 1931.
LIGHT THERAPY—MAYER 395
FURTHER PHYSIOLOGIC EFFECTS OF LIGHT
The increase in calcium and phosphorus content of the blood
serum in rickets and tetany under ultra-violet radiation is due in
all probability to an increased absorption of calcium from the intes-
tine.®°
Antirachitic or calcium-depositing agents, namely, vitamin D and
ultra-violet rays of sunlight and of artificial sources, increase the
free acid of the gastric contents, resulting in an increase in duodenal
acidity. This aids in holding calcium salts in solution with the con-
sequent increase in calcium absorption. Also, phosphorus absorp-
tion is increased, since calcium is usually associated in the body with
phosphorus in the form of phosphates. Sometimes phosphorus
absorption may be the primary effect.
Under solar radiation, the blood shows increased alkalinity, a fact
attributed more to the action of the heat rays.*t
Radiation with massive exposures from carbon and mercury arcs
has increased persistently red blood cells and reticulocytes,*? but,
contrary to expectation, there was no great influence exerted in
hemoglobin regeneration in severe secondary anemia produced by
continual bleeding of animals. Increase of hemoglobin in human
anemias has been reported. However, this work does not yet con-
vince us without much further support that such radiation is bene-
ficial clinically in cases of anemia.
Reticulocytes vary in number with the season, being highest in
the spring and lowest in the winter. ‘This seasonal variation seems
to be in direct proportion to the amount of sunshine. There may
be a relation between the cure and the prevention of anemia, and
sunlight or ultra-violet.** It is interesting to note that Macht found
the serum of an individual suffering from pernicious anemia toxic
to plant seedlings, this property being absent in specimens of blood
from those with secondary anemia or other blood diseases. When
the serum of a patient with pernicious anemia is irradiated with
ultra-violet, it becomes much less toxic. These observations are in
accord with those of some workers of a particularly favorable re-
sponse of some patients with pernicious anemia to artificial sources
of light.
Lymphocytosis in rabbits and possibly in man can be produced
by exposure to the shorter ultra-violet rays.** Hematoporphyrin
80 Abrahmson, E. M., and Miller, BE. G., Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. and Med., vol. 22, p. 438,
1925.
31 See footnote 26.
= Laurens, Henry, and Mayerson, H. S., Journ. Nutrition, vol. 8, p. 465, March, 1931.
8 Macht, D. I., and Anderson, W. T., jr. Journ. Pharmacol. and Exper. Therap. vol. 34,
p. 365, December, 1928.
“Clark, Janet H., Amer. Journ. Hyg., vol. 1, p. 39, January, 1921. Hardy, M., and
Chapman, J.. Amer. Journ. Hyg., vol. 10, p. 655, November, 1929. Spence, K., and Grif-
fith, H. D., Report of the Medical Officer of the City of Aberdeen, p. 48, 1927.
396 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
injected subcutaneously or applied locally to the mesentery of a frog
or a mouse sensitizes the vessels to the visible rays, capillary stasis
is produced, and thrombi of leukocytes are formed in the vessels at
different points along the endothelial wall. Eosin (1:1,000) sensi-
tizes the capillaries to the visible rays, so that stasis is produced by
these rays alone. Cell membranes and capillaries develop increased
permeability on exposure to ultra-violet rays. Animals kept in
darkness from birth can show growth changes differing in no way
from those exposed to light, but blood examinations have in some
experiments shown lowered blood platelets.** On exposure of these
animals to quartz mercury vapor arc radiations, the number of
platelets has rapidly increased to normal. There is also evidence
that the coagulation time is decreased.
Basal metabolism is increased only slightly, if at all, by light ex-
posures alone, but it can be markedly increased by exposure to
moving air. Some workers have reported even a drop in many
eases. Increased heat output by radiation under a provoked hyper-
emia demands increased metabolism. Increased mineral metabolism
is definitely provoked by light alone to give increased urinary out-
put of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and chlorides. Following ex-
posure to light, respiration is decreased in rate but increased in
depth. Increased body heat production obviously demands accel-
erated vital reactions. The rate of growth may be increased under
the action of hght.**
The improved physiologic action of the skin on exposure to light
may be presumed; namely, as to increased secretory and protective
powers. It may be speculated that the skin metabolism may be
stimulated by light and the formation of glutathione may be in-
creased. Perhaps the specific carbohydrate metabolism of the skin
which has been demonstrated experimentally by the presence of
lactic acid may likewise be stimulated.*7 This conception of the
skin as an organ intimately concerned with complex chemical
processes presents increased importance to the possibilities of light
therapy. It has been related how intimately the skin is concerned
with the elaboration of lipoid substances and how the epithelium
% Gunn, F. D., Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. and Med., vol. 24, p. 120, November, 1926. Sooy,
J. W., and Moise, T. S., Treatment of Idiopathic Purpura Hemorrhagica, Journ. Amer.
Med. Assoc., vol. 87, p. 94, July 10, 1926.
36 Goldblatt, H., and Soames, K. M., The Effect of Radiation with the Mercury Vapor
Quartz Lamp on the Growth of Rats Fed on a Diet Deficient in the Fat-Soluble
Growth-Promoting Factor, Lancet, vol. 2, p. 1321, December 23, 1922. Hume, E. M., The
Effect of Radiation with the Mercury Vapor Quartz Lamp on the Growth of Rats Fed on
a Diet Deficient in Vitamin A, idem., p. 1318. Goodale, H. D., Amer. Journ. Physiol., vol.
79, p. 44, December, 1926. Higgins, G. M., and Sheard, Charles, Journ. Exper. Zool.,
vol. 46, p. 383, 1926.
87 Pillsbury, D. M., The Intrinsic Carbohydrate Metabolism of the Skin, Journ. Amer.
Med. Assoc., vol. 96, p. 426, Jan. 7, 1931.
LIGHT THERAPY—MAYER 397
is a structure that actively functions in the elaboration of keratin
from keratohyalin, and so ultimate explanations may be had as to
the effect of light in overcoming derangements from the normal in
metabolism.
Acne vulgaris is less common in tanned skin than in untanned
skin. During an epidemic of chicken pox at Rollier’s clinic, cutane-
ous vesicles were not found on tanned skin, whereas they did appear
on unexposed areas beneath plaster casts. Erythema of the skin
produced either by heat or by actinic radiations is accompanied by
transitory increased bacteriophagic and bacteriolytic power of the
blood serum and leukocytes for streptococci, pneumococci, and staphy-
lococci.*®? Following exposures to solar radiations and to artificial
sources of light, especially with combined exposures to moving air,
remarkable muscular tonus has been produced in unused muscles,
despite prolonged application of immobilizing casts.
It is doubtful whether systemic effects resulting from local skin
irradiation are due to reflexes arising from stimulation of nerve end-
organs. No specialized receptors for ultra-violet rays have been
differentiated. Also the vasomotor reactions result just as readily
when denervated cutaneous areas are exposed to light.
It is still debatable whether changes are produced in the blood
directly by penetrating rays. If so the visible and near ultra-violet
are responsible for systemic effects due to blood changes.
It seems possible that hormones are produced in the skin because
a systemic effect, like the antirachitic, results from irradiation with
rays of which only approximately 10 per cent penetrate to the blood
vessels.*°
The action of light on the body is in all probability largely an
indirect one by way of the cutaneous cells, nerves, and blood vessels.
Ultra-violet rays for the most part are absorbed by the epidermis.
Deeper penetration of the longer visible rays and of the shorter
infra-red rays may allow of some slight direct action, but there
is little cause to believe that this can be of much direct therapeutic
value. Therefore, penetration should not be stressed as the factor
for the interpretation of physiologic effects.
Heat rays and heat effects of luminous rays have been shown to
increase and hasten the effect of ultra-violet energy, but also experi-
ments *° have shown that red rays may act antagonistically to ultra-
violet. Thus cholesterol has become activated by ultra-violet rays so
as to contain the antirachitic vitamin; thereupon a successive ex-
38 Widinon, A., Brit. Journ. Radiology, vol. 31, p. 35, January, 1926.
39 See footnote 12.
40 Bovie and Klein (footnote 24). Clausen, Ethel M. L., Proce. Soc. Exper. Biol. and
Med., vol. 26, p. 77, November, 1928. Peck, J. L., Physiol. Abstr., vol. 10, p. 374, 1925.
398 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
posture to red rays caused a loss of antirachitic property. Likewise,
old, ineffective ergot preparations could be reactivated on exposure
to ultra-violet, but subsequent irradiation with red rays again de-
stroyed the efficacy. On the other hand, the estrus hormone could be
destroyed by ultra-violet but reactivated by red rays.
In short, a summation of the mode of action of light in the present
state of our knowledge is difficult. 'The isolated experiments carried
out on single cells, on bacteria, on the components of cellular struc-
ture, and so on, are difficult to carry over and apply to the effects on
the human body. Certain rays do penetrate directly to the capil-
laries, but their effects can only be assumed through such action.
Vitamin D-like substances are definitely formed, but their effects on
the body, except in disturbances of calcium metabolism, are unde-
fined. Increased cell permeability as a result of light exposure can
be demonstrated, which may imply improved cellular nutrition.
Exact effects on the other components of the skin and on the various
skin functions, or directly on the blood circulation and so on the body
functions, must still remain for future investigation to define
accurately.
LIGHT AND MOVING AIR FROM OUTDOORS
The application of light necessarily requires consideration of ac-
companying moving and open air. With lamps, moving air from
outdoors should be employed if possible. Air movement produces
increased heat radiation and conduction with better respiration and
excretory function of the skin. Cool moving air acts directly on the
vasomotor system, stimulating the superficial capillaries, producing
a hyperemia and, in turn, a depletion of the cutaneous circulation.
This, acting as a massage, may be responsible for the development of
muscle, otherwise immobilized in treatment. With sunlight therapy
the effect of moving open air is greater, but air exposures may well be
utilized with artificial light therapy through satisfactory ventilation
of the treatment room. Carbon arc lamps may be effectively used
outdoors in cloudy, warm weather. However, chilling should always
be avoided, even at the expense of losing the air movement when one
is employing artificial sources of light.
SUNLIGHT VERSUS CARBON ARC AND QUARTZ MERCURY VAPOR ARC LAMP
In mid latitude, sea-level stations, during midsummer, clear mid-
day sunlight contains intense ultra-violet rays down to 297 milli-
microns. Those around 290 millimicrons, its lowest limit, are in
intensity about one-millionth of those around 310 millimicrons. Its
emission of visible and infra-red energy is very high.
Proponents of solar therapy have insisted on the use of radiation
having a spectrum with components relatively like those of sun-
LIGHT THERAPY—MAYER 399
light. The clinical results with solar exposures have been most
favorable in the hands of these workers. Sunlight possesses an
advantage in the favorable psychic reaction which makes the patients
much more willing to submit to prolonged periods of exposure. Yet
there is empiric evidence and theoretical basis for expecting very
favorable therapeutic results with other combinations of light rays.*
Aside from the calcium-deficiency diseases such as rickets and tetany,
the favorable clinical results with radiation can not be ascribed only
to the vital ultra-violet region. In fact, even in bone and joint
tuberculosis there is now impressive evidence indicating the impor-
tance of the visible radiation and the wave-length region lying
between 320 and 390 millimicrons.”
Quartz mercury vapor are light.—About 0.1 per cent of the total
output of the energy of sunlight is in the short wave length ultra-
violet rays, the variation dependent on the geographic location,
season of year, time of day, and kind of weather; but the total
output of the solar “near ultra-violet ” is large when one considers
the total intensity of sunlight.** As against the mercury arc, it
lacks the short ultra-violet rays below 290 millimicrons. The quartz
mercury vapor arc lamp emits a marked preponderance of ultra-
violet energy in relation to its total output. It emits relatively much
less visible and infra-red energy than does sunlight; most of the
infra-red comes from the heated quartz, the electrodes, the supports,
and the reflecting hood.* About 17 per cent of its ultra-violet rays
(the total ultra-violet being considered 100 per cent) are of shorter
wave lengths than the lower limit of sunlight. The lower limit of
its radiation is 185 millimicrons, but in therapy it is rarely below
200 millimicrons. Its upper limit of radiation is about 12 microns
in the infra-red. The radiation less than 450 millimicrons repre-
sents two-thirds of all radiation below 1.4 microns. It consists of
a weak continuous spectrum down to 250 millimicrons and a number
of spectral lines of high intensity from 450 to 185 millimicrons.
Quartz allows the transmission of the rays from 185 to 320 milli-
microns which are not transmitted by window glass. The intensity
increases rapidly in the first few minutes to reach the final value in
41Maughan, G. H., Amer. Journ. Physiol., vol. 87, p. 381, December, 1928. Sonne,
Carl, Arch. Physical Therapy, vol. 10, p. 139, April, 1929. Reerink, E. H., and Wijk,
A. V., Biochem. Journ., vol. 23, p. 1294, 1928. Steenbock and Black (footnote 27).
Hess, A. F., and Weinstock, Mildred, idem, vol. 62, p. 301, December, 1924. Huldschinsky,
K., Deutsche med. Wehnschr., vol. 45, p. 712, June 26, 1919; Zeitschr. f. Kinderh., vol.
26, p. 207, September, 1920. Howland, J., and Marriott, W. M., Quart. Journ. Med., vol.
11, p. 289, July, 1918. Bakwin, Harry, and Bakwin, Ruth M., The Dosage of Ultra-Violet
Radiation in Infants with Tetany, Journ. Amer. Med. Assoc., vol. 95, p. 396, Aug. 9,
1930. Casparis, H., and Kranrer, B., Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp., vol. 94, p. 219, July,
1923.
42 Phelps, W. M., Journ. Bone and Joint Surg., vol. 12, p. 253, April, 1930.
48 Coblentz, W. W., and Kahler, H., Bur. Standards Sci. Pap. 378, 1920.
“4 Coblentz, W. W., Long, M. B., and Kahler, H., Bur. Standards Sci. Pap. 330, 1918.
400 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
about 10 minutes after the arc has been started. For local treatment
a water-cooled quartz mercury vapor arc light is frequently em-
ployed either with or without quartz compression lens or other quartz
applicators, varying with indications.
Carbon arc.—The spectral components emitted by the carbon are
are similar to sunlight, except for an additional band at 3,883
Angstrom units, but vary in intensity. The total radiation emission
and the relative intensity of some of its spectral components may be
altered by varying the voltage and amperage, by altering the
diameter of the carbons, and by impregnating the carbons with suit-
able metals or salts.4° The plain carbon arc of low amperage (from
3 to 10 amperes) has rarely proved of clinical value in local applica-
tions; those of higher amperage (20 or more amperes), especially
those burning impregnated carbons, have been reported effective in
general body exposures. The high intensity arc has an output of
total energy closest to sunlight. Nickel, iron, titanium, aluminum,
and tungsten are all employed for impregnating the carbons.*
Groups of (from 20 to 30 amperes) carbon arc lamps are often used
for irradiation of several bedridden or ambulant patients; high am-
perage lamps (from 50 to 125 amperes) are, as a rule, used chiefly for
groups of patients. There are those utilizing 90 amperes that can
irradiate 12 or more patients at a time. The cost of installation, the
operation charges of large carbon arcs and the care necessary make
them useful chiefly for the handling of groups of subjects in
institutions.
Of the ultra-violet rays, the plain carbon are emits chiefly the
longer (near 400 millimicrons) ; that below 300 millimicrons is com-
paratively weak. Carbons with special impregnations or cores now
employed in carbon are lamps emit additional radiation characteristic
of the metal or chemical employed within the carbon. Carbons im-
pregnated with iron, tungsten, titanium, and nickel emit rich ultra-
violet zones down to about 220 millimicrons; in addition, carbon-are
sources emit much infra-red and red radiation. With great energy
input, carbon arcs can emit a large quantity of radiation. For best
efficiency, a definite relationship must exist between the diameter of
the carbons and the amperage employed.
The greater the amperage, the more heat is generated. A lower
amperage arc can be operated nearer to the patient because its
45 Coblentz, W. W., read before Illuminating Engineers Society, Chicago, Oct. 14, 1927.
Luckiesh, Matthew, Ultra-Violet Radiation, New York, D. Van Nostrand Co., 1922. Grif-
fith, H. D., and Taylor, J. S., Journ. Hyg., vol. 25, p. 218, July, 1926; Radiology, vol.
10, p. 98, February, 1928.
46 Luckiesh (footnote 45). Coblentz, W. W., Sources ef Radiation and Their Physical
Characteristics, Journ. Amer. Med. Assoc., vol. 95, p. 411, Aug. 9, 1930. Coblentz, W.
W., Dorcas, M. J., and Hughes, C. W., Radiometric Measurements on the Carbon Are
and Other Sources Used in Physical Therapy, idem, vol. 88, p. 390, Feb. 5, 1929.
LIGHT THERAPY—MAYER 401
lessened heat makes this tolerable. Hence, by the law of inverse
squares, close exposures increase the quantity of light utilized. Asa
result, lesser amperage arcs, such as 29 amperes, with specially im-
pregnated carbons, may prove as effective on close irradiation of
single patients as high amperage arcs necessarily operated at greater
distance and generally employed for groups.
Other artificial sources of light are frequently employed, especially
in the European clinics. These include arcs between electrodes of
tungsten, iron, magnetite, or cadmium; also oxyacetylene flames. A
recent development is a combination of a mercury arc between highly
incandescent electrodes of tungsten, all inclosed in a special glass
(Corex) that absorbs the ultra-violet shorter than 280 millimicrons,
not present in sunlight.‘7 The total intensity at about 3 feet distance
is about one-twelfth average solar radiation. About 1.5 per cent of
the total radiation emitted consists of radiation of wave-lengths less
than 313 millimicrons.
A so-called cold quartz light, also recently developed, is a glow dis-
charge through mercury vapor, emitting mostly short ultra-violet
rays shorter than those present in sunlight (90 per cent or more at
954 millimicrons). The exact place of these sources of light in
therapeutics must still be fixed.
Indications for the use of various sources of light therapy are
still inexact, as are also the contraindications; but in many localities
in cold and cloudy seasons of the year, when sunlight is too uncertain
and solar exposures are too interrupted, artificial sources of light
have proved valuable aids and substitutes.
PIGMENT
Mercury-vapor ares produce a yellowish-brown pigmentation.
However, at times I have observed mercury-vapor lights produce a
pigment barely distinguishable from that produced by sunlight, but
it does not last as long. Pigment produced by intense sources of heat,
such as oxyacetylene blasts or osram lights, is said to simulate sun-
light tan closely, and to be just as permanent (Kisch). This is
doubtful. The pigment from sunlight, the carbon arc and tungsten
arc is blackish brown or red-brown.
That increased pigment production necessarily means an increased
tendency to healing is not generally accepted. Similarly, however,
the maintained production of an erythema is not a necessary accom-
paniment of improvement. Pigment can protect against an overdose
of ultra-violet energy; it absorbs hight, changing it to heat, and may
allow for better heat radiation; it is doubtful whether it sensitizes
#7 Luckiesh, M., Artificial Sunlight, New York, D. Van Nostrand Co., 19380.
402 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
the skin to visible light as chlorophyll does the plant. Patients who
failed to develop pigment have responded favorably to treatment,**
just as patients who developed a strong pigment often failed to heal.
The development of ultra-violet pigmentation is independent of that
of tolerance, and ultra-violet tolerance is possible without pigmenta-
tion. A suspension of melanin has been shown to protect the frog’s
mesentery from ultra-violet rays.
Primary melanin deposit is in the basal cells of the malpighian
layer; and the greatest absorption in this layer, according to Bachem
and Reed, occurs at 300 and at 250 millimicrons. Therefore, pigment
production must be due mainly to these spectral regions; and it
appears to be the expression of a local response to the irritation of
the prickle cells, which lie immediately above the basal cells where
the pigment is deposited. In addition to the irritation, a mother
substance (dioxyphenylalanine or tyrosine or some closely related
compound) and an enzyme (an intracellular oxidase called dopa-
oxidase) are necessary.
Pigment undoubtedly is in some way correlated with increased
tolerance to irradiation. It not only absorbs but radiates energy.
It increases absorption to the yellow and green and so suggests an
adaptation to sunlight (which has its greatest intensity in this
region). It may sensitize tissues to long rays and so shift the effec-
tive threshold toward the red region; but there is no evidence of its
changing short lethal rays to long nonlethal ones, as Rollier has
suggested.
Of the rays that produce pigment readily, a fairly large percent-
age has been found to penetrate beyond the pigment-bearing cells.
Pigment cells lying beneath prickle cells can not account for the
increased tolerance of the latter to subsequent irradiation, unless
melanin may cause systemic effects that allow for this. Chemical
change produced in the corneal layer may also be a factor.*®
DOSAGE
Curative results in light therapy may be brought about without
the production of marked cutaneous burn, and even the first degree
of redness need not be produced. In treatment of rickets exposures
with the quartz mercury arc as small as five minutes anteriorly and
posteriorly twice weekly have proved curative. The skin offers a
vast field of living cells, which are exposed to stimulation or injury
in many ways, and such an effort may provoke immunizing or harm-
ful effects. Certain regions of ultra-violet between 313 and 250
millimicrons produce skin erythema; about 69 per cent of the light
48 Reyn, A., Die Finsenbehandlung, Berlin, H. Meusser, 1913.
# See footnote 12.
LIGHT THERAPY—MAYER 403
erythema is caused by rays from 302 to 297 millimicrons. Four per
cent of this maximum is at 313 millimicrons; 45 per cent is around
253 millimicrons. Erythema is not caused by even one hour’s
exposure of the skin to ultra-violet rays longer than 330 millimicrons
(Hill). Rays shorter than 250 millimicrons produce a very faint
erythema. Dosage in therapy with unfiltered lamps must therefore
be regulated by the intensity of wave-lengths from 313 to 250 milli-
microns present. Erythema varies with the intensity of the wave-
lengths of those regions and the duration of exposure to the source
of ultraviolet rays, the distance from the source, the temperature,
and the individual sensitiveness of the skin.
The dosage of light to be used therapeutically can not be fixed,
and it will vary with the disease treated. The sources of light and
the individuals irradiated vary too greatly to allow of any generaliza-
tion. Even different areas of the body vary greatly in their sensi-
tiveness to radiation. Some workers prefer an erythema, others a
suberythema dose; still others strongly stress the desirability of the
production of pigment. The Copenhagen school, employing par-
ticularly the carbon arc light, prefers erythema.
A practical method is to aim at a faint erythema production with
each dose applied. Thus skin sensitiveness is maintained. (This
dose of light has produced in the hands of some workers an in-
creased bactericidal power of the blood, whereas excessive dosage
has produced a marked decrease and in animal experimentation
has appeared to hasten death.) Overheating of the body is avoided
by using short and intense exposures. The degree of skin erythema
may guide in regulating dosage. Exfoliating skin is very opaque
to ultra-violet rays, while newly exposed skin is very sensitive. The
skin is rested during desquamation and several days elapse before
further exposure to this area. When the skin becomes insensitive,
say to large doses of mercury-vapor quartz light, an exposure to
long-flame carbon arcs is employed. When pigment is established
by this source, so that a long exposure is now required to produce
redness, this exposure can be reduced by using nickel-cored or tung-
sten-cored carbons. The method requires only 15 minutes’ maxi-
mum radiation in contrast to the Finsen method, with which a
92-hour exposure is the rule.*? Skin colorimeters have been made
aiming to measure varying degrees of erythema; but their accuracy
is questioned. Rollier and his followers, on the other hand, aim
for pigment production.
Overdosage of light may produce injury, although nature has
left a wide margin of safety. Excessive exposure has caused a
drop in the bactericidal power of the blood with malaise and fatigue.
50 Widinow, A., Med. Journ. and Rec., vol. 130, p. 695, Dec. 18, 1929.
149571—33—_27
404 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
During menstruation the blood bactericidal power was lowered
and irradiation appeared to make this even worse.*+ In experiments
in which rabbits were given a septicemia, the bactericidal power
of the blood fell to a very low degree and was not improved by
irradiation, thus supporting the view generally held that in the
treatment of acute infections by light one should be very cautious.
Very aged patients have been considered to have their resistance
to infection lowered by the injudicious application of light.°? In
tuberculosis overdosage has produced focal reactions that have done
harm; light may set up a focal reaction similar to that of tuberculin.
In anemic rats careful irradiation has led to a rapid regeneration
of erythrocytes and hemoglobin; but if the irradiation was too
vigorous, blood cells were destroyed.** Overexposure to ultra-violet
has rendered ergosterol inactive against rickets. On the other hand,
prolonged and intense irradiation of rats with ultra-violet (over a
period of six months) had no unfavorable effect on the rate of
growth or on the size or appearance of the endocrine glands.
In some cutaneous disorders (eczema, psoriasis, lupus erythemato-
sus, herpes simplex, erythema solare perstans, xeroderma pigmento-
sum, freckles, atrophy, keratoses, prematurely senile skin) exposure
to such rays may cause an exacerbation, provoke an attack, or
produce other injurious effects.
The schedule for increasing the period of exposures with various
sources of light must vary. The physician is to be guided chiefly
by the signs and symptoms evinced by the patients in their response
to treatment, in addition to the skin reactions. Furthermore, in
disease such as tuberculosis, the selection of a form of light therapy
may depend on the state of activity or on the type of disease to be
treated; thus, with a febrile advanced case, one would usually prefer
to avoid using heat rays. One may also have to depend on the
source of light available or be influenced by the season of the year.
Furthermore, a failure in response to one form of light therapy
may be an indication for the trial of another form, or possibly many
forms of light therapy may have to be combined in various ways.
I have found that some patients with sallow complexion showed little
skin erythema on the first exposure to the mercury-vapor quartz
lamp, but if previously treated with from three to four doses of the
carbon arc lamp they later reacted with erythema. There may exist
contraindications to light therapy which are not yet clearly under-
stood but which later with more experience may become evident.
51 See footnote 38.
®2Gauvain, H., Lecture to the National Tuberculosis Association, Washington, D. C.,
1927.
58 Kestner, O., Zeitschr. f. Biol., vol. 73, p. 1, 1921.
LIGHT THERAPY—MAYER 405
It is highly probable that, in most forms of progressive acute
tuberculosis, light therapy is not indicated. It is well known that
roentgen therapy is not indicated in such cases. In my experience,
intestinal tuberculosis is an exception. In this complication at times,
even when progressively active, mercury-vapor quartz light has
seemingly been of great value.
With any form of tuberculosis, light is used merely as an adjuvant
and should be combined with every other possible aid. The main-
stays of treatment still exist in rest, good food, and hygienic outdoor
life.
With bone and joint tuberculosis, orthopedic treatment with
immobilization and traction is absolutely essential while light
exposure is being employed. Surgical intervention is occasionally
needed, especially for the aspiration of abscesses or for hastening
the expulsion of sequestrums. Joint resection and surgical fusion
are necessary less often with heliotherapy, but there may even yet
be certain social, economic, and other factors, as well as the stage
of the disease, that occasionally force this intervention. The plaster
east is less often needed. As pointed out earlier, one always com-
bines general and local light exposures, regardless of the location
of the lesion.
TECHNIC OF EXPOSURES
With sunlight, the patients are graduated to increasing periods
of exposures over increasingly large areas of the body according to
Rollier’s technic. Sunlight of the lowlands and highlands can both
be employed clinically, but the heat of the day should be avoided.**
Diffuse daylight and air exposures on cloudy days are used to great
advantage. Chilling winds should be avoided. Overexposures may
incite latent foci of disease to activity. It is important that patients
during and after solar exposures feel as well as or better than they
do before taking them. Headaches, restlessness, nervousness, or
irritability, elevation of body temperature or pulse rate are all indi-
cations of undue reactions that call for some change in the program
of solar exposures.
With plain carbon arcs, as used at the Finsen Institute, one begins
with a 15-minute irradiation, front and back, and then increases
daily 15 minutes front and back until exposures of 2 hours daily
are reached. The lamps are placed at a distance from the patient, so
that the heat emitted from this source of light is tolerable. Fre-
quently, sweating occurs during the exposures. The treatment is
then terminated with a sponge bath. General body exposures are
4 Rollier, Auguste, Heliotherapy, New York, Oxford University Press, 1923; Strahlenthe-
rapie, vol. 28, p. 259, 1928.
406 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
always employed, and, if possible, an additional local exposure is
made. In these cases as much skin surface as possible is irradiated.
With impregnated carbons, depending on the cores and the amperage
employed, one can gage the dosage by watching for skin erythema
and the general constitutional reactions. With these one must feel
one’s way cautiously by first using very small exposures. With a 90-
ampere carbon arc, beginning exposures of one-half minute are made,
at a distance fixed for various makes of apparatus—usually above
6 feet—and perhaps 20 minutes secures the maximum exposure. Al-
though with the Finsen arcs of thick carbons, exposures of 2 hours
are made, 15 minutes is the longest time with the long-flame arcs.
The aim has been to determine the optimal amount of skin to be ex-
posed. Thus, a method of exposure of only limited skin areas such
as the thorax or back, with a new area every other day so as to utilize
four parts and return to the area of the first exposure on the tenth
day, has given very favorable results. The skin is thus maintained
in a light-sensitive state, and no exposure is given during desquama-
tion. The question of the advisability of such a manner of irradia-
tion is not yet solved.
With a new mercury-vapor quartz light, alternating current of
5 amperes, 110 volts, I have also made exposures purely on an
empiric basis, beginning with one minute at a distance of 36 inches
from the body, employing two exposures in front and two behind,
and centering over the middle of the upper and lower halves of the
body in order to expose uniformly as much of the skin surface as
possible; a fifth exposure is then made directly over the area of
disease to include any possible reflex depth action; a daily increase
of one minute is added to the exposure until a 10 or rarely 20 minute
period is reached front and back at this distance on all five parts.
The room temperature is maintained at about 70° F. Ventilation
is employed, so that the patient senses the movement of air. Heat
lights (carbon incandescent bulbs) are added, if the patient is not
able to endure the ventilation without discomfort. With older
burners, dosage is increased more rapidly.
The quartz burner is then slowly brought nearer to the body by
lowering it about 1 inch every other day until it is 18 inches from
the skin if no redness of the skin occurs with the previous dose.
After this, the second intensity is frequently employed, especially if
the burner is one that has had considerable usage. In addition to
the general body exposures with the air-cooled mercury-vapor light,
a contact exposure is often made to a superficial focus of disease by
means of an applicator attached to the water-cooled mercury-vapor
light.
LIGHT THERAPY—MAYER 407
More recently I have been decreasing the dose, exposing only every
other day, and on less skin area, aiming rather for suberythema dos-
age. ‘The results are apparently as favorable as with the procedure
already outlined.
CLINICAL RESULTS
Jt has been scientifically proved that a certain region of ultra-
violet radiation produces a vitamin D-like substance, and it therefore
favorably affects calcium metabolism in calcium-deficient disease.®
Thus, clinically, ultra-violet is most effective in rickets, tetany, and
osteomalacia. Its value in overcoming a demineralization of the
pregnant and nursing mother presents favorable substantial evi-
dence.** The empiric results are strongly impressive when light is
used as an aid in certain skin diseases, superficial ulcerations, and
many forms of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Serious workers will
deplore the extravagant claims which have from time to time been
made for the therapeutic effectiveness of ultra-violet radiation cover-
ing so many diseases that it is impossible to enumerate the entire list.
It must be left to the future to substantiate and disprove reported
favorable clinical results in conditions such as secondary and per-
nicious anemias, nasal sinusitis, hay fever, common colds, catarrh,
asthma, or carbon monoxide poisoning, and many skin diseases.
Light has repeatedly been quoted as an important tonic agent and
one that will raise resistance against most systemic infections, with-
out proof of action. Colored glasses placed over lamps have also fre-
quently been so advocated.
In skin diseases ultra-violet has proved truly of great value when
used locally and generally in the treatment of lupus vulgaris and
scrofuloderma. It has occasionally been found useful in acne vul-
garis, psoriasis, indolent ulcers, pityriasis rosea (in erythema doses),
adenoma sebaceum (in blistering doses), and erythema induratum.
It has been of questionable value in the treatment of boils and gen-
eralized staphylococcus infections of the skin, and alopecia. It has
generally not fulfilled the promise of earlier reports in the treatment
of lupus erythematosus.
In tuberculosis light of any form by itself is not curative but com-
prises only one of the important adjuvants in treatment. To believe
that sunlight or lamps will cure all forms of extrapulmonary tubercu-
losis, to be unduly optimistic about this treatment and consider it
specific, to use it without sound medical guidance and adequate equip-
' Maughan, Sonne, Reerink and Wijk, and Hess and Weinstock (footnote 41). Steen-
bock and Black (footnote 27).
5 Huldschinsky, Howland and Marriott, Bakwin, H., and Bakwin, Ruth M., and Cas-
paris and Kramer (footnote 41).
408 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
ment, and to use it to the exclusion of rest and the hygienic-dietetic
regimen in the open, eliminating orthopedic measures or the occa-
sional necessary surgical intervention, will bring discredit to a really
desirable form of treatment.
If one employs light as an aid only, the most favorable response to
solar exposures has been shown in the so-called pretuberculosis of
children and tuberculosis of the lymph nodes (including hilus),
pleura, bones and joints, peritoneum, and intestine.
Less favorable results (yet often good) are obtained in genito-
urinary, laryngeal, ocular, aural, and cutaneous tuberculosis. Pul-
monary tuberculosis I do not consider an indication for hight therapy.
With joint tuberculosis, Rollier claims the fibrous form of ankylosis
has been overcome and the joint function has been restored, but how
permanent these favorable results will prove to be can not be stated.
Restoration of function may occur in the synovial form of joint
tuberculosis even after large effusions have been absorbed; but one
is still entitled to doubt a functional return of motion in a joint
when the bony parts have been destroyed to any degree. Ortho-
pedic measures still play the major role in bone and joint tubercu-
losis; and intervention by surgical fusion should always be con-
sidered in cases of advanced bony destruction. With lymph node
disease, massive tuberculosis glands have been extruded from their
capsules during healing by light. Fistulas are most resistant to
treatment.
With plain or cored carbon arcs of high amperage (from 55 to 75
amperes) or with arcs of lower amperage (from 20 to 29 amperes),
the best results have been reported with cutaneous and ocular (cor-
neal and phlyctenular) tuberculosis and that of the bones and joints,
lymph nodes, larynx, peritoneum, and intestines; less favorable have
been the reports on pulmonary and genito-urinary tuberculosis.
In my own experience with the use of the quartz mercury-vapor
light as an adjuvant, the most favorable response has been encoun-
tered in intestinal tuberculosis. The diagnosis is established by a
history of all varied digestive complaints, such as alternating consti-
pation and diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, soft or watery
stools, or merely by persistent loss of weight or slight elevation of
temperature otherwise unexplained—by any or all of these symptoms
combined with roentgen demonstration of spasm or filling defect in
the cecum or ascending colon in a patient known to have pulmonary
tuberculosis. Plate 1 shows roentgenographically the intestine
with a filling defect before treatment, and an almost complete
disappearance of this defect after eight months of quartz mercury-
vapor exposures; this improvement was accompanied by a cessation
of the digestive complaints. After the study of a large series of such
LIGHT THERAPY—MAYER 409
eases, of which the foregoing is typical, I am convinced that this
recovery is directly related to the light therapy and occurs fre-
quently if the disease is not of the acute progressive type and if
the patient’s condition is not too poor. However, these are only
clinical impressions, and experimental proof is yet needed.
Other forms of tuberculosis which in my experience are frequently
helped by mercury arc light exposures (when light is used only as an
aid) are the “hilus glandular,” or so-called hidden tuberculosis of
children and adults, and the superficial forms of tuberculosis, such as
the cutaneous, oral or pharyngeal, laryngeal (except the acute and
the edematous forms), corneal and phlyctenular ocular tuberculosis,
and the lymph node and peritoneal tuberculosis. Less favorable in
their response but yet often improved are genito-urinary, and bone
and joint tuberculosis. Postoperative sinuses after nephrectomy are
especially responsive.
Reliance on any source of light as an important aid in pulmonary
tuberculosis is not to be encouraged.
From the foregoing presentation of the present status of light
therapy it is evident that harm may be done by the injudicious and
uninformed use of light. Valuable as this method has proved itself
to be in a limited number of diseases, it is surely clear that much
more investigation and many more scientific data are required before
light should be generally prescribed by those unfamiliar with the
contraindications and the details of its application.
an oe inepac; ut
of the digediroconmin te. Adve Qegtody of langh aaren
cotati usbiteibibei his ee i
ib eumectlsunp ne resin ingen adigilicads! ephadalas ny
ei Sra! eee oriacniriep babersiitad ota ae pabacd bin Sith GS 1
USN Le See 2 £ verre it) 160q oat tom af sotaneaveag ap
3 ehabplay sage he dimen eet peN SiS: ct by ng $e
{idaon pevers eras deme iivaepens nana uti eter
OPA BREE, Les fhyain lah W/o ewes het vows
Ry etep iowa id halved, tev eissins ores: th . :
28 Botie etowhinemdtwp are eset blot eonyete tlt rpokithat path
HirasertyiAx pap aepyono)) La weryeel pian alste yates eles -
ein yhtt “th fut Pie far) pee cE riag eee fraser + aie ald
ote
‘
i rool rs | rh ce ‘bine Bi: ' PAROLE ait chit know bncfi bremta fogs
specie! res Or an presences i deed dienes este
ci4 air be rs wn din abe, rte ppeerene sar? pi 08
orien tciehener 41 ineaboaat iran toi ica basta
ae Lhe urebased ital. aheobaspenhat
iyi he is oberg rd ta toni vd) sergeant dbo.
Beat divotor bre plati ue BAUD SAL RnG tase Dehetre iat Hepepaseutd
Cues t Pre colep ene evita cies aie eae eho: ule’ Mi doyle bare Yio tains,
Seine Teh Doe: ye hh TRS {s0@ iiralbe i ebb he earners cites
eroted Doiiuper blbatkh oblinuipaienbarydaen {aet stevitaey Ream bed
aiclitive wnslizatbharrgeaky tue indian sel lateasiy tolieiatt aS
Eo) . -ttoltaoydy eb 26! alindob silt brtg atoitevibatinsans
in of ere ret oe lien aise) Pape | A Yom: RS: ‘te Th
eg iT i) ant (ower My eerage if rors 20 ti 2y dase by
fir GAG Ken Le NaeWo Wet Knpier nek Merely Ste ee ane puttin tent.
(a na | Al seat | re ite ied eh Ot ‘Pha Bensd ya joince,
besivcith. rotlishy bal ie: Litelta, ane eafanidies) tees favorable dines
eels | ports on pabneiary aged’ soptiiedhin huborpulnaia”
rey easels, Gi ie aie Oe Pa aiuietsy TORCUES TApor 4
oth Aa wt MRO net Tevorahln Aeporiae GMa eqwolmn:
red) 1) emit by Peete. Bes Ulueroete 7-4 « pital 16 *%
: PY dare! dholbiwe enya es, ante see bee car Tag
rent hc andl diate iia Sath, VTA ites thd fats ‘Ae {ath St om wn
hia te. le mili) y |) pend lie ve Wrens Wy eugeil slogudips: Some
Sree ee ME we Low Tee a ea By GF rue oF tha:
mpbinet Qi) roan iget genial ade etisuamy OF ‘flings Wels iim -
wer : Wing chien ct). a Pela Toe ee bata pny mah yg
tibereaiusis Dale J, uae -reetipenegstohieatige alae ania |
vette: ae NT tay oh Bie | os reo teu qud ~: alent mip 2
“raked iviigs. nt Cie hey Loit aot: Vecathan a Ahn uf sin
vr ones | Oe at oven waar ncaa ened aye # Coe tiny s
=.
=
>
f
eS
ah! La ben vid « a F ‘
Y
we
PLATE 1
1932.—Mayer
ian Report
hson
it
Sm
FILLING DEFECT IN CECUM BEFORE TREATMENT
il
2. ABSENCE OF FILLING DEFECT AFTER TREATMENT
THE RISE OF MAN AND MODERN RESEARCH ?*
By JAmMrEs H. BREASTED
[With 7 plates]
There are few if any men of science to-day who would reject the
conclusion that physical man is a product of evolution from lower
forms of life. As we look at the subsequent career of early man we
find that we know very little about his rise until he enters the His-
toric Age, commonly regarded as beginning with European history.
Between the emergence of physical man on the one hand and on the
other the beginning of the historical period commonly identified with
European history, there lies an enormous period of at least a million
years, which is to a large extent a gap in our knowledge. Consider
that gap for a moment. On the other side of it the bestial savage,
Caliban on Setebos, the merely physical man—on the nearer side
civilized Europe! In the tremendous chasm that lies between, falls
the entire development of the mind of man, from his emergence as
the first implement-making creature, and thence upward through
the conquest of civilization to the dawn of European history. In
brief, the whole story of man’s emergence from the deeps of merely
physical existence, the story of the Rise of Man, must be found in
the great gap. There lies the triumphant development of the human
mind beginning with physical man as a mere mammal struggling
for survival among all the other mammals and eventually gaining
complete supremacy over them all as he achieved the conquest of
civilization. We thus have before us three great periods or processes:
First, the rise of life on the earth, culminating in the evolution of
physical man; second, the great period which I am calling the Rise
of Man, still so vague and obscure in the darkness of our ignorance;
and third, European history, or the history of western man. Since
the days of Locke the philosophers have more or less fully recog-
nized the fact not only that man arose out of nature but also that
man and nature are one. The conclusion was essentially philosoph-
ical. Our second period, the Rise of Man, is now yielding the
evidence which demonstrates historically that man, with all his men-
tal endowment, has arisen out of nature.
1 Address delivered at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, Wash-
ington, D. C., Apr. 27, 1931, and since then edited and brought down to date.
411
412 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
LACK OF ORGANIZED INVESTIGATION OF THE RISE OF MAN
The study of the first of these three periods is the task of natural
science, especially of the geologists and the paleontologists. This
prehuman period is being vigorously investigated in all the great
centers of science of the world, such as the American Museum of
Natural History in New York, under the able leadership of Henry
Fairfield Osborn. It is needless to state that the third of these
periods—the Age of Historic Man, so commonly identified in gen-
eral terms with European history—is being studied in exhaustive
researches by highly trained specialists, the historians of Europe
and America. It is a remarkable fact that the Rise of Man, the
middle period of the three which I have mentioned, is nowhere
represented by a systematically organized corps of investigators
operating on a large and general plan with all its subordinate parts
carefully correlated. This Rise of Man, which brought about human
supremacy on our globe, this conquest of civilization, a period cover-
ing at least several hundred thousand years, constitutes, as I have
elsewhere affirmed, the greatest event in the history of the universe
in so far as it is known to us. But strange to say, there has existed
heretofore no body of scientific investigators organized especially for
the study of that tremendous transformation which I am calling the
Rise of Man.
THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE ORGANIZED TO STUDY THE RISE OF MAN
Thirteen years ago, before the National Academy was housed in
its present beautiful home—that is, in April, 1919—I had the honor
of delivering the last course of the William Ellery Hale lectures
before this distinguished body. These courses of lectures, as you
will recall, had been planned by our illustrious colleague, Dr. George
E. Hale, for the purpose of tracing evolutionary development begin-
ning with the constitution of matter, which was presented in the first
course of lectures by Sir Ernest Rutherford. He was followed by
a group of distinguished natural scientists who traced the develop-
ment through ever higher forms up to the appearance of man. Feel-
ing very insignificant by contrast with these eminent natural scien-
tists who preceded him, the embarrassed humanist who is now ad-
dressing you endeavored to sketch the culminating events of this
age-long development in the final course of Hale lectures on the
Origins of Civilization. In preparing the materials for that course
of lectures I was, as I had been for years, painfully aware of the
lack of any large and comprehensively organized agency for investi-
gating the Rise of Man. Working individually and alone, with but
sight institutional support, we orientalists have long stood with
the geologists and paleontologists at one elbow and the historians at
THE RISE OF MAN—BREASTED 413
the other. We thus have on one side highly organized groups of
natural scientists and on the other a large body of trained historians;
but we ourselves have had no organization for the study of the Rise
of Man. In May, 1919, a few weeks after delivering the William
Ellery Hale lectures, I received from Mr. John D. Rockefeller, jr.,
a very cordial letter agreeing to finance the nucleus of a staff to
begin organized investigation of the Rise of Man. Out of this begin-
ning of 13 years ago this new organization, which we call The Orien-
tal Institute, has rapidly grown from the conduct of a single expedi-
tion on the Nile to an organization which is not only maintaining a
group of trained investigators at the American headquarters at the
University of Chicago but also serves as the administrative and
scientific center operating a series of research expeditions at 12
different points in the ancient Near East, with a personnel of over a
hundred people.
Genetically the work of the Oriental Institute, as I have already
indicated, falls between that of the paleontologists, on the one hand,
and of the historians, on the other. Geographically it includes the
vague region commonly called the Near East. If we lay out upon
a map of the eastern Mediterranean region a circle having a diameter
of something over 2,000 miles, we find that it includes the great cen-
ters where man began as a savage and eventually created the civiliza-
tion which we have inherited. The region stretches from the Black
Sea on the north to the cataracts of the Nile on the south, and from
the Aegean and the Greek Islands on the west to the Persian Plateau
on the east. For an individual scientist to undertake, single handed,
the recovery and the study of the vast body of evidence still sur-
viving in this extensive region would be pathetically futile. The
task must be attacked by a large organization subdivided into groups
or expeditions. The Oriental Institute therefore has now a group
of 12 research projects strategically distributed throughout the an-
cient lands of the Near East and stretching along a curving frontier
of over 2,500 miles, from the Black Sea on the north to the cataracts
of the Nile on the south.
THE PREHISTORIC SURVEY
It is obvious that the study of earliest man must carry the investi-
gator back into the geological ages, and our researches in the Near
Kast, therefore, have been to no small extent concerned with the
problems of natural science, especially geology. We have, therefore,
organized a Prehistoric Survey, under the leadership of Dr. Kenneth
S. Sandford, an experienced geologist, as field director. This expe-
dition undertook first the investigation of the geological history of
the Nile Valley. The results have been notable. There are still
414 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
many gaps in our geological knowledge of this area of northeastern
Africa, but our prehistoric survey has been able to follow the suc-
cessive stages of the geological history of the Nile, notwithstanding
the unavoidable gaps. Back in Oligocene time, millions of years ago,
the river began as a colossal but meandering stream carrying north-
ward the drainage of all Northeast Africa across the North African
Plateau to the predecessor of the Mediterranean Sea. It transported
enormous masses of gravel, which now overlie vast areas of the North
African Plateau. Here and there lie scattered also silicified or
ol BLA Che . SEA
Le ‘AIRO A RA B I A N
m SAKKARA ~ @ 4 P PERSEPOLIS
=~ re fi \
ao «6 {ng REFERENCE eit i
Je Ye =EXPEDITIONS OF THE ORIENTAL
LANG, ce INSTITUTE, EXCEPT THE PREHISTORIC
Pn Bera SURVEY EXPEDITION. WHICH HAS
ABYDO NA COPERATED EXTENSIVELY ALONG THE NILE.
i von WSEA Ay TS = FERTILE CRESCENT
_ EX
FiguRE 1.—Map showing the field operations of the Oriental Institute in the Near Wast
petrified tree trunks as much as 70 feet long, brought down on the
waters of this mighty Oligocene river. There is no evidence of
man’s presence along this earliest Nile.
EARLIEST EVIDENCES OF MAN YET DISCOVERED IN THE NEAR EAST
Somewhat east of its earliest course this drainage began to cut a
channel which finally deepened and expanded into the present Nile
Valley. As its volume diminished the shrinking river left on either
hand a series of terraces, in which our Prehistoric Survey has dis-
covered early implements of Stone Age man buried in the structure
of the terraces as in the river terraces of Europe. Along a section of
the ancient river bed now dry, and belonging to the early stages of
the Nile in its present valley, the survey discovered a stretch of over
60 miles of the early Nile bed some 60 feet in depth, and at the bot-
THE RISE OF MAN—BREASTED 415
tom of this gravel bed they found stone implements wrought by
the hands of man and marking for us the advent of man in Egypt.
The age of these implements must be Plio-Pleistocene—that is, in
terms of European geologi-
cal history at the beginning MEDITERRANEAN
of the European Ice Age, | ALEX- is
SEA
ARI TSO
although there was of NORM
; ¢
course no Ice Age in North
Africa. These implements aN
WADI> ee
are therefore the oldest Aree
human artifacts ever yet
found in the Near East, FALE,
and may date anywhere er wieT ad
from several hundred thou- BEN SUE)
eee Ny
sand to a million years ago.
INY
DISCOVERY OF THE DATE OF baiMtINYEHS EMS TERN
THE DESICCATION OF ABU KURKAS
NORTH AFRIOA AND THE aN
AGE OF THE SAHARA use ied is
Even more important =
than this new observation 2 SOHAG") NAG’ a:
: . HAMADISS
is a group of very instruc- ABYDOS, owen
tive discoveries made by THEBES
3 3 : eLUXOR
the Prehistoric Survey in wb ERMENT
i eS
the Faiyum Lake depres- BORE OeT ESNEN
. . = 2
sion in the Sahara Plateau 1% eorud
on the west side of the Nile, ty GEBEL SILSILEH,,
° . Kom OMEO
60 miles above Cairo. ig inne
Here a series of lake ter- Ist Cataracts
races, discovered by the C) iki!
survey, were linked up in it
age with those in the Nile
Valley. As many as 10 of Y KAS BRIM A oncke
‘ ABU SIMBEL,
these lake terraces were MS
found lying in a series one GEBEL ABUSIESyap| waLes
below another. As the 2nd Cataract} SPE eH ae
high lev rehis- / oe ai
gh level of the prehis SEMNEH ee etn
toric lake, 112 feet above
the sea gradually sank age Ficurs 2.—Sketch map of Egypt, showing the area
>] tas} : ° . ‘
3 thus far included in the Prehistoric Survey
by age to its present level
below the sea, the waters stopped long enough at successive levels
to leave these terraces. The lake was shrinking as a result of the
desiccation of North Africa, and these terraces, like the sinking sand
416 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
in an hourglass, mark off both the falling waters of the lake and
the advancing desiccation of North Africa. This piece of research
has thus, for the first time, disclosed the date of the desiccation
which created the Sahara Desert. This date is not in terms of years,
but in terms of human culture. It was in the middle of this Old
Stone Age commonly called Paleolithic, when the lake was still at
a level far above the sea, that the desiccation of North Africa began.
Such a tremendous change completely transformed the life of man
on the North African Plateau, and the discovery that Paleolithic
man was exposed to this change is one of epoch-making importance.
Thus we learn that while Paleolithic man was exposed to the advance
of the ice and the rigors of the Ice Age on the north side of the
Mediterranean, on the south side he was exposed to the desiccation
that transformed his fertile plateau home into the present Sahara
Desert. What was to be the result?
DESICCATION OF NORTH AFRICA AND THE RISE OF MAN
Before the desiccation set in, the entire North African Plateau
was without doubt plentifully watered and was inhabited by the
earliest hunters whom we know on the African Continent. The evi-
dences of their presence are distributed far across the Sahara from
the Nile to Morocco, in remote and inaccessible desert regions which
no hunter, however daring, would now venture to visit with any
hope of returning alive across the waterless waste. With the ad-
vance of the desiccation these hunters were forced to take refuge in
the Nile Valley, where there was plentiful water. The animals
which they had been commonly pursuing on the plateau probably
preceded them in great numbers to the bottom of the valley. This
close association of the hunter with the animals he pursued, due
directly to the desiccation which drove them both into the Nile
Valley, was without any doubt one of the influences which brought
about the domestication of animals. In a situation otherwise com-
pletely desert, the plentiful water obtainable along the shores of
the Nile likewise contributed to the development of earliest agri-
culture, especially after the Egyptians invented the plow. The sur-
viving evidences left by these processes are buried deep under the
Nile alluvium, which has been deposited by the river during the
last 15,000 or 20,000 years and perhaps longer. In boring an arte-
sian well at the new Luxor headquarters of the Oriental Institute
the drill brought up pottery at a depth of 75 feet.
On the basis of these two possessions, cattle-breeding and agricul-
ture, there arose in the Nile Valley the earliest known social and
governmental structure—the earliest organized nation of several mil-
lion souls—a government, the emergence of which was itself the
THE RISE OF MAN—BREASTED 417
dawn of civilization. Thus began an extraordinary social evolu-
tion much of which we can follow. Although its earliest stages elude
us, we have in the prehistoric cemeteries along the Nile a vast body
of fact and information concerning the earliest conquests which
lifted man from savagery to civilization, and form the oldest evi-
dences of the advance of man’s developing mind.
SALVAGING THE EARLIEST BUILDINGS AND INSCRIPTIONS PRODUCED BY
CIVILIZED MAN
As organized government advanced the monumental age began,
and the volume of evidence greatly increased. The vast cemeteries
of massive stone tombs with which Nile travelers are familiar along
the margin of the desert from Gizeh southward for 60 or 70 miles
are an illustration of the enormous body of unsalvaged evidence
which still remains to be recorded and saved for science in the
ancient Near East. It is the salvaging of this evidence which consti-
tutes probably the most important of the numerous responsibilities
of modern science in this region at the present day. The Oriental
Institute has therefore organized a group of staffs trained. equipped,
and adequately supported, to salvage this perishing evidence at every
possible point. At Sakkara, the cemetery of ancient Memphis, the
reliefs in the tomb chapels of 5,000 years ago, often with beautifully
preserved original colors, depict the whole range of ancient human
life, especially cattle breeding, agriculture, and highly diversified
industries. The expedition which is just beginning the work of copy-
ing these scenes in facsimile and publishing them in color is under
the field directorship of Prof. Prentice Duell, formerly of Bryn
Mawr College. These remarkable materials when published will fill
five folio volumes 24 inches high.
THE DAWN OF CONSCIENCE
With the development of the social fabric which arose on the
material basis so clearly disclosed in these early tombs, moral sensi-
bility appeared as early as the middle of the fourth millennium B. C.,
and the sense of social responsibility also later arose for the first
time. Man began to contemplate society and to reflect upon the
quality of human conduct. Thus emerged a new realm of social and
moral values, which man began to observe for the first time. Con-
science gained influence and began to be a social force. This funda-
mental step in human advance is disclosed to us in the centuries
before 2000 B. C. in a large body of writings which we call the
“ Coffin Texts,” because they are written on the insides of ancient
Egyptian coffins. For the last eight years, under the editorship of
Dr. Alan H. Gardiner, of London, and Dr. Adriaan de Buck, of the
418 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
University of Leyden, the institute has been exhaustively copying
the thousands of lines of “ Coffin Texts” preserved in the ancient
coffins at Cairo and in the various museums of Europe and America.
When these important texts have been carefully edited and pub-
lished by these two scholars of the institute staff, it will be possible
to date the dawn of the Age of Conscience just as we date the begin-
nings of the Age of Metal.
EARLIEST EVIDENCE OF A SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE OF MIND
At the same time the institute has been greatly interested in the
development of the human mind as disclosed in the beginnings of
science. It has therefore recently published the earliest known sur-
gical treatise, an extraordinary papyrus now in the collections of
the New York Historical Society. This treatise, written toward
3000 B. C., that is, nearly 5,000 years ago, discloses for the first time
the beginnings of a scientific attitude of mind and is therefore the
earliest known document in the history of science. It is commonly
known as the “ Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus,” after the name of
the owner, the earliest American Egyptologist, who lived in Luxor
and purchased the papyrus there in 1863.
THE GREAT MONUMENTS OF THE IMPERIAL AGE
After 2000 B. C. the national developments all around the eastern
end of the Mediterranean led to international rivalries and the Im-
perial Age began. Early in the sixteenth century B. C. Egypt
gained a leading position and for 400 years was imperial mistress of
the ancient Oriental world. As the first world power Egypt was
able to erect colossal monuments, many of which now survive and
await rescue and study. This vast group of monuments forms the
largest body of evidence which still lies unsalvaged in the ancient
Near East. Jt consists chiefly of the inscriptions and reliefs on the
walls of the great tombs and temples of the Nile. In association
with the Egypt Exploration Society, the institute is saving the
records of the beautiful Temple of Seti I at Abydos and publishing
them in color in a series of folios, of which the first volume is slowly
nearing completion. This field work is being carried on by an able
woman, Miss Amice M. Calverley. At Ancient Thebes, known to
the general public more widely as Luxor, the institute has been
working for six years at the collossal Temple of Medinet Habu and
others connected with it. It has recently issued the first volume of
a series of 10 or 12 folios, which for all time will save for historical
science the enormous body of inscribed and sculptured records cover-
ing the walls of the Medinet Habu temples. These records, dating
from 1200 B. C., are of particular importance, because they disclose
THE RISE OF MAN—BREASTED 419
Europe for the first time entering the arena of oriental history, and
reveal to us the migrations which carried the Etruscans from Asia
Minor to Italy. The expedition doing the work on these records is
the largest which the institute has in the field and is conducted by
Dr. Harold H. Nelson as field director.
EGYPTIAN PALACE ARCHITECTURE RECOVERED FOR THE FIRST TIME
At this place the same expedition is conducting extensive excava-
tions in order to recover the architecture of the buildings. This
project has been under the immediate leadership of Prof. Uvo
Hoelscher. For the first time we have now before us in surprising
completeness the architecture of a Pharaoh’s royal palace. To our
surprise, Hoelscher’s excavations and penetrating observations have
disclosed quite clearly that the largest halls of a Pharaoh’s palace
had vaulted ceilings, and were not therefore flat-roofed like the
Egyptian temples, as we had formerly supposed. This unexpected
discovery is of great importance in the history of architecture.
These palace halls, with high vault over the central axis and lower
vault on either side, are undoubtedly part of the ancestry of the
clerestory architecture of Europe, with high nave and lower side
aisles.
NEW ORIENTAL INSTITUTE HEADQUARTERS AT LUXOR
This work of salvaging the evidence from the temples and tombs
of the Nile has developed so rapidly in the plans of the institute
that it was decided to establish permanent headquarters with ap-
propriate buildings on the east side of the Nile at Luxor. The
institute therefore purchased a tract of 314 acres facing the Nile
on the northern fringes of the modern town of Luxor and almost
under the shadow of the great Karnak temple. This expedition
of the institute with its personnel of over a score, who have been
living beside the great Medinet Habu temples on the west side
of the Nile, has now moved into the buildings of the new head-
quarters on the east side. Here is a large residential house, with
spacious social rooms; the whole connected by an arcade with a
neighboring building, containing library, offices, a large draft-
ing room, and plentiful workrooms. Besides these two, there is
another building containing photographic laboratories, a garage for
the cars of the expedition, an outlying building for laundry, be-
sides work shops and servants’ quarters. These buildings are of
burned brick, steel, and concrete. Designed in the southern Cali-
fornia-Spanish mission style, they stretch along the river with a
frontage of over 350 feet, and will form the outstanding scientific
center for the operations of the institute in the Near East, as well
as the Egyptian headquarters.
149571—33——_28
420 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The institute is also active in the great Theban cemetery, where
Mrs. Nina de G. Davies has long been engaged in copying in color
facsimiles the ancient paintings on the walls of the tombs. Under
the editorship of Dr. Alan H. Gardiner, who supported this work
for years, these paintings of Mrs. Davies, together with an addi-
tional series which she is now engaged in making, will be published
by the institute in color, in a series of 115 color plates, occupying
two folio volumes.
It will thus be seen that as far as the early human career in North-
eastern Africa is concerned, the institute is salvaging and studying
the evidence along a chronological series of periods extending from
the geological ages down to the emergence of Europe in the history
of the east.
NINE ANCIENT CITIES BEING EXCAVATED IN WESTERN ASIA
In Asia a similar program has been undertaken, modified, how-
ever, by the fact that the climatic conditions and the character of
the monuments have contributed to the perservation of a different
type of materials. Certain kinds of written evidence are better
preserved in Asia than in rainless Egypt. This is especially true of
cuneiform tablets when they have been fired in an oven so that they
become pottery. Far across the hills and valleys of western Asia,
from Anatolia to Persia, stretches a vast array of city mounds cover-
ing great archives of cuneiform tablets, and the process of salvaging
these materials has still been hardly more than begun. Behind this
historic age of writing there lies a period of many thousands of years
of prehistoric development which must be investigated by a pre-
historic survey like that which we have had in Egypt. Meantime
the study of the human career in western Asia is not yet in a posi-
tion to disclose any such remote sequence of development as the
Oriental Institute has found in Northeastern Africa.
Thus far the researches of the institute in western Asia have
been concerned chiefly with the Age of Writing, and especially with
the early developments in the Tigris-Euphrates region. Some 30
to 40 miles north-northeast of Baghdad the institute has a con-
cession to excavate a group of four ancient cities lying in a circle
only some 15 miles in diameter. At Tell Asmar, the most important
of the four, the institute has put up a considerable field house which
is now the headquarters of its operations in ancient Iraq. This
project is under the charge of Dr. Henri Frankfort, as field director.
In immediate charge of the work at the second neighboring site,
called Khafaji, Doctor Frankfort had for one season Dr. Conrad
Preusser associated with him. By the introduction of modern trans-
portation it is possible to carry on the investigation of these two
THE RISE OF MAN—BREASTED 421
sites, and eventually also the two others forming the group of four,
from the single center at the Tell Asmar house.
The importance of these researches lies in the fact that this
region on the east of the Tigris stretches eastward toward the Per-
sian Mountains and the eastern end of the Highland Zone, as we
call it, the high and mountainous belt of country that extends from
the Persian Plateau westward through Anatolia to the Balkans in
Europe. This Highland Zone was inhabited by a group of round-
headed people like the Hittites and the Armenians, who developed
a civilization, the variations of which are closely related to each other
and which may be called the Highland Civilization. These High-
land peoples overflowed constantly to the lowlands on the south.
At Tell Asmar and Khafaji we have evidences of this overflow,
which even extended as far west as the region of Baghdad.
The work at this site has been aided by airplane observation, at
first kindly made for the institute by the British Air Force and later
from an Imperial Airways plane chartered by the institute. The
grass, which, supported by the winter rains, grows chiefly in the
spring, does not grow on a surface covering the walls in such an
ancient site. The absence of the grass therefore discloses the ancient
walls lying beneath the surface of the present desert. Indeed, when
an air photograph of desert surface has been developed in the dark
room the lines of ancient walls may be traced quite clearly as be-
trayed by the absence of the grass. Although the old walls them-
selves, because they are buried beneath the surface, are invisible,
their ground plan is thus revealed to the investigator by the air
photograph. At Tell Asmar and Khafaji the topmost strata belong
to an age before 2000 B. C., in general the age of the great lawgiver
Hammurapi, and it is clear, therefore, that the lower levels must
be of much greater age. The lower levels will reveal to us earlier
stages of Sumerian history and will disclose especially their relations
with the Highland peoples on the north. A large palace of Sumerian
age has been discovered at Tell Asmar and will be entirely laid bare
next season. At Khafaji we have uncovered a fortified inclosure
with temples and dwellings.
AN UNKNOWN CITY OF THE HITTITES
The most important of these Highland peoples were the Hittites,
whose chief states and leading cities were in Anatolia. Here the
Oriental Institute has been actively engaged in exploration and exca-
vation for the past five years. These Hittite researches have been
under the field directorship of Dr. H. H. von der Osten, and for a time
also Dr. Erich Schmidt. Doctor von der Osten’s explorations have
been fruitful in the discovery of new sites, and the statement that he
422 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
has been able to place on the map several score of ancient settlements
and town sites which were unknown before may illustrate the fact
that almost nothing has been done in this region. In excavation
the institute has been occupied with the great mound of Alishar,
southeast of Ankara. The recent decipherment of Hittite cuneiform
has made it possible to read their clay-tablet records which had
heretofore been found at only two places in Asia Minor—the ancient
Hittite capital of Hattusas and a commercial settlement now known
as the Kiil Tepe. The institute’s discovery of cuneiform tablets at
Alishar therefore added a third Hittite city to those already known
to have left records in cuneiform writing. One of these tablets from
Alishar contains the name of the earliest known Hittite king, en-
abling us to date it from a very early stage of Hittite history, reach-
ing back a century or two earlier than 2000 B. C. The excavation at
Alishar is the first such investigation which has carefully plotted all
the ancient levels stratigraphically. These excavations have there-
fore disclosed for the first time the successive stages of ancient life
in Anatolia, from the Stone Age at the bottom, over 85 feet below,
to the latest Seljuk Turkish levels at the top, a range of some 5,000
years. Thus for the first time this expedition has identified and
listed the types of Anatolian pottery, which are the archeologist’s
fossils for dating the levels in an ancient city mound, as the fossils
found in the rocks date the strata for the geologist. These types of
pottery, thus stratigraphically recorded and dated, now furnish the
history of pottery so fundamental to further archeological investi-
gation, available for the first time in Hittite territory, in the pub-
lished reports of the institute on this excavation.
EXCAVATION OF THE PALACES OF DARIUS AND XERXES AT PERSEPOLIS
The Hittites must have occupied the region of Anatolia at the
west end of the Highland Zone, well back toward 3000 B. C., if not
earlier. The outstanding people on the east end of the Highland
Zone, however, familiar to us as the Persians, were very late intruders.
The Highland Civilization of this region in pre-Persian days was
of great importance in its influence on early Babylonia, and, as
already mentioned, the institute is investigating several sites in the
neighboring lowlands which the Highland invaders founded or cap-
tured as they shifted thither. In the study of the rise of civilization
it is necessary to investigate the earliest culture discernible at the
eastern end of the Highland Zone in very remote pre-Persian days.
As a first step toward such investigations the institute is just begin-
ning the excavation of the magnificent Persian capital of Persepolis.
This Persian expedition is under Prof. Ernst Herzfeld, of Berlin,
THE RISE OF MAN—BREASTED 423
as field director. In connection with the investigation and restora-
tion of these magnificent palaces of the Persian Emperors, especially
of Darius and Xerxes, the institute has begun a series of researches
in the vicinity of Persepolis which will carry our knowledge back
of Persian days into the pre-Persian Highland Civilization, which
has left numerous city mounds still untouched by excavation and
scattered far and wide across the Persian hills and valleys. The
Persepolis expedition when the institute received the concession was
the first scientific project of America within the limits of modern
Persia.
THE EXCAVATION OF ARMAGEDDON IN PALESTINE
South of the Highland Zone is the great desert bay which has as
its cultivable fringes what we may call the “ Fertile Crescent.” ‘This
great crescent has Palestine at the west end, Babylonia at the east
end, and Assyria in the middle. (See map, p. 414.) We have already
mentioned the excavations of the institute at Tell Asmar and Kha-
faji, on the east end of the Fertile Crescent. It is also excavating
in Palestine, at the west end. Closely involved with the shifting
history of the east in the Imperial Age is the famous battlefield
of Armageddon, or Megiddo, in Palestine. This plain, lying inland
from Haifa, received its name from the strong fortress city of
Megiddo, which dominated the plain and commanded the pass over
the Carmel Range which flanks the plain on the south. It was this
very pass through which Allenby advanced to his great victory
on the Plain of Armageddon at the close of the World War. The
institute has recently acquired control of the entire site of the his-
toric city, an area of something over 13 acres, and is now engaged
in the systematic clearance by stripping off stratum after stratum of
the levels which mark the successive cities built one above the other
on this ancient site. Thus far the excavation has descended to
the Age of the Hebrew Kings. The stables in which Solomon kept
his blooded horses, imported from Egypt for sale to the Hittites,
have been uncovered; and a monument of the Pharaoh Shishak, who
captured Jerusalem under Solomon’s son, has also been discovered.
One of the interesting developments at this site, where the excava-
tions are in charge of P. L. O. Guy as field director, has been the
use of a small captive balloon for securing air photographs which
are so valuable to the archeologist. Mr. Guy has employed a type
of balloon which, though not large enough to carry an operator,
nevertheless will carry a camera, the shutter of which can be oper-
ated by electricity from the ground. <A small hangar has been pro-
vided for the protection of this balloon, which now makes possible
a series of very useful air photographs, showing the varying plan
424 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
of the city as the excavation proceeds and descends from one chrono-
logical level to another. These air surveys now form a regular part
of the record of the excavations.
EXCAVATION OF THE PALACE OF SARGON II AT KHORSABAD
The entire region south of the Highland Zone, with the exception
of arid desert areas, contains city mounds of the greatest importance
for completing the larger picture of the developing civilizations
which intermingled in western Asia. Originally occupying the mid-
dle of the Fertile Crescent, the Assyrian civilization was a composite
drawn from the lowland south and the Highland Zone on the north.
The cities and palaces of the Assyrian emperors on the upper Tigris
are therefore important centers from which we may draw bodies of
evidence of priceless value for the study of the Rise of Man. This
is especially true of the palace of Sargon IT at Khorsabad, about 15
miles north of modern Mosul and ancient Nineveh, which face each
other on opposite sides of the Tigris. The excavations of the insti-
tute at Khorsabad, following those of the French at the same site,
have resulted in the recovery of much additional information on the
architecture, besides a large series of sculptures, important both for
the history of art and of civilization. The most notable piece among
these sculptures is that of a vast winged bull which once adorned
an entrance of the palace. These figures were called by the Assyrians
and Hebrews “ Cherubs,” a term which was curiously misunderstood
by older Biblical interpreters, and early Christian art. The colossal
figure of the bull, equipped with wings and human head, is some 16
feet high and weighs 40 tons. The transportation of these pieces
from the upper Tigris to the Persian Gulf and thence to New York
was a problem of great difficulty. Even after reaching New York
transportation problems were not eliminated, for the figure pro-
jected so far on each side of a modern steel gondola freight car that
it would have been impossible for the car to pass through a tunnel.
The railways had to select a route for the bull from New York to
Chicago, therefore, which avoided all tunnels. He has now finally
reached Chicago in safety and is duly installed in the new Oriental
Institute building at the University of Chicago, which was opened
to the public on December 5, 1931. This colossal piece of oriental
sculpture is a mystically impressive expression of the spirit of the
ancient east, and graphically suggests the vast body of evidence from
its ancient cities, now converging from so many different points of
the compass on the headquarters of the Oriental Institute at Chicago.
The organization whose far-reaching results converge on this
central headquarters has been made possible by the General Educa-
tion Board, the International Education Board, and above all by the
THE RISE OF MAN—BREASTED 425
support of John D. Rockefeller, jr. His personal interest, which
has included a journey to the Near East for personal inspection of the
field work of the institute, has created a new era in the study of
human origins. The new home of the Oriental Institute in Chicago
is a gift of the International Education Board, which he created.
In this unique laboratory for the study of the unfolding life of
man there is now gradually accumulating a body of selected and co-
ordinated evidence such as has not been available before.
We have endeavored to suggest the great drift of human de-
velopment from east to west (pl. 7, fig. 2) in a sculpture occupying
the tympanum over the entrance door of the new building of the
Oriental Institute at Chicago. The civilized developments sug-
gested in this sculpture on the left, filling up and bridging over the
great chasm between the emergence of physical man and western
civilization, restore to us the unbroken continuity of the unfolding
life of man on earth, till we are able to see it in uninterrupted se-
quence from the trilobite to Benjamin Franklin and Abraham Lin-
coln. Against the vast deeps of this vista even the catastrophe of a
world war sinks into insignificance, and the voices of our Spenglers,
our Keyserlings, and all the other superficial pessimists vanish with-
out anecho. We see that to-day man is still standing in the dawn of
civilization—in the first glow of that dawn. The light which diffuses
that glow has been brightening for several hundred thousand years.
There is no indication that it will cease to grow. It is the story
of that growing light which is revealed to us in the Rise of Man.
EXPLANATION OF PLATES
PLATA 1
Figure 1. The new Oriental Institute building at the University of Chicago
seen from the northwest. The results of the institute’s field operations,
which extend from Turkey on the north, through Syria, Palestine, Iraq,
and Persia, to upper Egypt on the south, are gathered for exhibition,
study, and publication at this scientific and administrative headquarters
building. Five exhibition halls and a lecture hall occupy the ground floor.
The other floors are devoted to administration, teaching, and research.
The basement contains shops, photographic laboratories, and storage.
Figure 2. The storm beach of the 74-foot Faiyim Lake (north of the ruins
of ancient Philadelphia), containing Middle Paleolithic stone implements.
Originating not later than Mousterian (Middle Paleolithic) times at a
level of 112 feet above the sea, the Faiyim Lake had sunk to 57 feet
above sea level by Neolithic times. Later desiccation has lowered the
lake to 147 feet below the sea.
PLATE 2
Fiaure 1. A drawing of an air perspective of the new headquarters building of
the Sakkara expedition among the palms of Memphis.
426 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Figure 2. Coffin texts and paintings on cedar planks forming the side of an
ancient Egyptian coffin of about 2000 B. C. It is such texts as the above
(lower right-hand portion of the plank), revealing early consciousness of
moral responsibility, which the institute’s coffin-texts project has copied
from possibly 200 similar coffins scattered throughout the museums of
Beypt and the Western world. Their publication will for the first time
make available to scholars all the earlier sources of the Book of the
Dead now known.
PLATE 3
Figure 1. Wreckage of the palace of Ramses III at Medinet Habu, flanked by
his great mortuary temple. It is here that Professor Hoelscher has been
carrying on excavations for the Oriental Institute and investigations of
palace architecture. (See fig. 2.) The temple beyond the palace is some
500 feet long and is covered both inside and out with royal records, of
which the epigraphic expedition of the institute, under Dr. Harold H.
Nelson, is making facsimile copies. The work on the walls of this
temple, the largest at Medinet Habu, is now approaching completion, and
two folio volumes have been issued.
FiagurE 2. Hoelscher’s reconstruction of a vaulted hall in the place at Medinet
Habu. (See fig. 1.) This audience hall of Ramses III, built early in the
twelfth century B. C., discloses for the first time, as noted by Professor
Hoelscher, the fact that such a palace hall had a vaulted roof, with a higher
vault over the central nave and lower vaults on each side—the funda-
mental roof type in later basilica and cathedral architecture.
PLATH 4
Ficure 1. The new Oriental Institute headquarters in Egypt on the east bank
of the Nile between modern Luxor and the great Temple of Karnak. The
main building faces west and is surrounded by a large garden. The river
bank to the west has had to be faced with stone, because the force of the
current at flood time would otherwise undercut the institute’s property.
The main building on the right serves as a residence unit for the staff,
while the library, drafting room, and offices are housed in the building on
the left. Photographic laboratory, garage, shops, and servants’ quarters
are in detached buildings at the rear.
Ficure 2. Air view of the ancient Babylonian city of Eshnunna, now called
Tell Asmar. This ancient city is being excavated by the Iraq expedition,
whose headquarters building, visible in this air view, has been constructed
at the edge of the city ruins. The area cleared at the time this view was
taken (January 238, 1931) is visible at the point of what looks like an
arrow but is really the excavators’ railway line terminating in the spread-
ing dump at the outer end. The small “ pockmarks” on the mound at the
right of the excavated area were made by illicit native diggers before
the institute received its concession to clear the mound. Photograph by
courtesy of the Royal Air Force.
PLATE 5
FicurE 1. Wooden post from a buried house of the Stone Age at Alishar.
Kighty-five feet down in the great city mound of Alishar, the Anatolian
expedition found the remains of a Neolithic (Late Stone Age) house. The
walls seen in the photograph are the solidified débris of later buildings,
THE RISE OF MAN—BREASTED 427
not the walls of the Stone Age house itself. The base of a fallen wall of
the latter may be seen at the left. The roof of the house fell in thousands
of years ago, but the stump of a wooden post which once supported the
roof is shown here as it was found, still standing on its stone base.
FicureE 2. Filming a corner of the palace terrace at Persepolis. This enormous
terrace surrounded by a massive retaining wall, in places 50 feet high, con-
tains about 150,000 square meters. The earliest palaces on the terrace were
erected by Darius in the latter part of the sixth century B. C. and were
followed by those of Xerxes and his successors. They were burned by
Alexander the Great after his capture of the place in 830 B. C.
PLATE 6
Figure 1. The great Palestinian mound under which the famous fortress city
of Armageddon (Megiddo) is buried. The expedition house is seen at the
left. The top of the mound is about 18 acres in extent, and the accumu-
lated rubbish of ancient ruins is 40 to 50 feet in depth. When the institute
began work here, the mound was covered with growing grain cultivated by
peasants such as are seen here in the foreground. The mound was then
expropriated and purchased by the Palestine government with funds fur-
nished by the Oriental Institute. The expedition of the institute has been
at work here five years clearing and studying the successive strata of
the ancient ruins.
Figure 2. Model of the stables of Solomon discovered by the Megiddo expedi-
tion. The condition of the ancient building as found is reproduced to
seale at the right-hand end. The adjoining cross section of one of the
stables discloses their interior arrangement. Rows of horses faced each
other on either side of a central passage used by the grooms for feeding
the horses. Two completely reconstructed stables are seen at the left.
Part of Solomon’s income was derived from his large-scale operations in
horse trading. These were of sufficient interest to lead the Hebrew
historians to refer to them in the Old Testament (I. Kings 9: 15-19;
II Chron. 1:14-17).
PrAtTH 7
Ficurr 1. Part of the Egyptian hall in the new Oriental Institute building at
Chicago. In the background the exhibit of Assyrian sculpture begins with
the great winged bull. These mysterious creatures were the “ cherubim ”
of the Old Testament, so seriously miSunderstood by later Christian art.
The figure served as the sculptural embellishment forming one side of a
palace gateway in the residence of Sargon II (eighth century B. C.) at
Khorsabad. It is carved in calcareous stone similar to alabaster, is 16 feet
high, and weighs 40 tons.
Ficure 2. Sculptures on the front of the Oriental Institute building (designed
by Ulric W. Ellerhusen, of New York City). This sculpture is a relief
adorning the tympanum over the entrance door of the Oriental Institute
building. It is intended to suggest the transition of civilization from the
ancient Orient to the West. The East, on the left, is symbolized by the
tall figure of an Hgyptian scribe confronting the vigorous and aggressive
figure of the West. The Hast carries over his right shoulder a palette
and writing outfit, and the West has just received from him a tablet
bearing an ancient hieroglyphic inscription suggestive of the transition
of writing from the Orient to the West. This inscription, which reads
“T have beheld thy beauty,” is taken from a Fifth Dynasty temple inscrip-
428 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
tion. In the animals behind these two figures on either side the Hast is
further symbolized by a lion and the West by a bison.
Behind the East are crowded the pyramids, the sphinx, the ruins of
Persepolis, and a group of six great oriental leaders. Beginning with the
foremost in the top row, the leaders are: Zoser of Egypt, the first great
builder; Hammurapi of Babylonia, the first great lawgiver; Thutmose
III of Egypt, the first empire builder; Ashurbanipal of Assyria, who col-
lected the first great library; Darius, the great organizer; and Chosroes
of Persia.
Behind the West on the right are the Parthenon, a European cathedral,
and a modern skyscraper tower. The six heads represent Herodotus,
Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, a crusader, a modern excavator lean-
ing on his spade, and a modern archeologist at work with his lens. In
the center, over all, shines the oriental sun, its rays ending in human
hands.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Breasted PLATE 1
1. THE NEW ORIENTAL INSTITUTE BUILDING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
SEEN FROM THE NORTHWEST
Se
5 Sak
2. STORM BEACH OF THE 74-FOOT FAIYUM LAKE
It contains Middle Paleolithic Stone implements. (North of the ruins of ancient Philadelphia.)
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Breasted PLATE 2
sh US! Pa
Wilts Ws wi uu) WANE UreNetoed REYNE a mf *) ji 3 oie OF
£ 1 Ue lad abl ol At Hy
a aE peer ee ts
1. DRAWING OF AN AIR PERSPECTIVE OF THE NEW HEADQUARTERS BUILDING
OF THE SAKKARA EXPEDITION, AMONG THE PALMS OF MEMPHIS
tes =|
2. COFFIN TEXTS AND PAINTINGS ON CEDAR PLANKS FORMING THE SIDE OF
AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN COFFIN OF ABOUT 2000 B. C.
Inside view.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Breasted Pees
1. WRECKAGE OF THE PALACE OF RAMESES III AT MEDINET HABU, FLANKED
BY HIS GREAT MORTUARY TEMPLE
2. HOELSCHER’S RECONSTRUCTION OF A VAULTED HALL IN THE PALACE AT
MEDINET HABU
(See fig. 1.)
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Breasted PLATE 4
1. THE NEW ORIENTAL HEADQUARTERS IN EGYPT ON THE EAST BANK OF THE
NILE BETWEEN MODERN LUXOR AND THE GREAT TEMPLE OF KARNAK
2. AIR VIEW OF THE ANCIENT BABYLONIAN CITY OF ESHNUNNA, NOW CALLED
TEL ASMAR
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Breasted PLATE 5
1. WOODEN POST FROM A BURIED HOUSE OF THE NEW STONE AGE (NEOLITHIC)
AT ALISHAR
2. FILMING A CORNER OF THE PALACE TERRACE AT PERSEPOLIS
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Breasted PLATE 6
1. THE GREAT PALESTINIAN MOUND UNDER WHICH THE FAMOUS FORTRESS
CITY OF ARMEGEDDON (MEGIDDO) IS BURIED
2. MODEL OF THE STABLES OF SOLOMON DISCOVERED BY THE MEGIDDO EXPE-
DITION
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Breasted PLATE 7
ee = ; ee re
hithitek : ec
1. PART OF THE EGYPTIAN HALL IN THE NEW ORIENTAL INSTITUTE BUILDING
AT CHICAGO
The Winged Bull marks the beginning of the Assyrian Hall opening on the right.
2. SCULPTURES ON THE FRONT OF THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE BUILDING
Designed by Ulric W. Ellerhusen of New York City.
MOHENJO-DARO AND THE ANCIENT CIVILIZATION OF
THE INDUS VALLEY ?
By DororHy MAcKAY
[With 4 plates]
In all the wealth of archeological discovery since the war, three
finds of supreme interest stand out: The tomb of Tutankhamen, the
royal graves at Ur, and the ancient Indus Valley civilization.
The importance of the tomb of Tutankhamen lies not so much in
what it has contributed to our previously considerable knowledge
of that period of Egyptian history as in the world-wide interest that
its wonderful art and wealth aroused in the work of the excavator,
hitherto apt to remain unknown to all but the interested few. To
that spectacular find, the other two discoveries might almost be said
to be due; for public interest means funds, and without ample funds
digging up a dead city or clearing temples or tombs from en-
shrouding débris of the ages is too costly a business to be lightly
undertaken.
The royal graves at Ur have not only yielded up objects of a re-
markable and before then unknown art and technique; they have
also revealed an extraordinary and scarcely believable savagery in
the ritual of the grave. That such moral backwardness should have
been coupled with such beauty of conception in the realm of art has
been something of a shock to a world in which, more and more,
respect for human life and happiness tends to surpass in its develop-
ment artistry of form and expression.
The third of these discoveries, though still shrouded in a veil of
mystery which the careful excavations of the last nine years have
only partially removed, may ultimately prove to be the most im-
portant. For it will clearly bring to bear on the whole history of
early races and religions a revealing light whose rays will penetrate
far beyond the limited area of the one river valley and even of
India.
Of the religions and philosophy of India, its races in pre-Aryan
times and now, this pushing back of history through some two
1 Reprinted, with slight changes in text and illustrations, by permission from Asia,
vol. 38, No. 3, March, 1932.
429
430 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
millenia is bound to add enormously to our knowledge and under-
standing. But also the races, religions, and arts of ancient Baluch-
istan, of Sumer and Elam, and of other countries still farther afield
come into this new circle of illumination. For bit by bit, item by
item, the Indus Valley finds, in conjunction with those of Sumer
and elsewhere, are revealing the close knowledge that the ancient
peoples of Western Asia had of each other. Indeed, they appear
to have traveled from place to place and traded together in a man-
ner that the modern world, accustomed to train and car and air-
plane, can hardly credit to those who had none of these things, but
were dependent on animal transport, primitive wagons, and sail.
In the various cities of Sumer, notably, at Kish, Ur, and Lagash,
seals lost by merchants from the Indus Valley have been found
by the excavator well-nigh 50 centuries later. Seals of Sumer-
ian workmanship have been unearthed in the north of Syria; and
there is evidence that the Sumerians had a trading colony in
Asia Minor. In recent years, moreover, other objects than seals,
which betray Elamitic, Babylonian, and possibly early Indian in-
fluence also, have been found from ancient Egypt on the one hand
to as far north as the Caspian Sea on the other.
The archeological study of the ancient world is rapidly breaking
down artificial barriers between culture and culture, and the his-
tories of race and race; so that for a proper understanding of the
story of the early world, one needs to be more than an Egyptologist
only, or Assyriologist, or Sanskrit scholar. Wide flung were the
cultures and interrelationships of the ancient peoples of the world;
broad in outlook must be our studies of them.
Before the discovery of Mohenjo-daro, the history of India seemed
to begin with the coming of the Aryans, which appears to have
taken place during the latter part of the second millenium B. C.
But little was known of the Neolithic age, save for a few finds of
flint implements and the dolmen burials in southern India; and the
rough cyclopean walls at Rajagriha in Bihar, which are relics of a
high antiquity. The Aryans themselves were apparently semi-
nomadic people and unaccustomed to the occupation of dwelling
houses. The only material monuments that can be safely ascribed to
their early years in India are the burial mounds of Lauriya Nan-
dangarh in Bihar, which are tentatively dated to the seventh or
eighth century B. C. Their first buildings were probabty of wood,
a supposition to which support is lent by the obvious imitation of
wooden structures in the earliest stone buildings of India, chief
among which are the Buddhist stzpas and monasteries. The great-
est monuments of the early Aryans are, in fact, purely literary—the
hymns of the Rigveda, Brahmanas, Puranas, and other Sanskrit
writings.
MOHENJO-DARO—MACKAY 431
In 1923, the veil which concealed the India of pre-Aryan days was
suddenly lifted in a dramatic and completely unforeseen manner. A
ruined Buddhist stipa had for some time been known in the Larkana
district of Sindh. Alone in a dreary jungle of dusty tamarisk and
stunted thorn trees, it raised its battered head, a prominent land-
mark, some 72 feet high, in a land of exceeding flatness. The late
R. D. Banerji, of the Archaeological Survey of India, on examining
it found that it stood upon a mound composed entirely of burnt brick
and mud filling. The bricks of the stwpa corresponded in size with
the bricks of the mound, and to ascertain the nature of the sup-
posedly Buddhist buildings beneath the stwpa, Mr. Banerji cut down
into them. He came upon a number of the square stamp seals and
copper amuletic tablets—quite clearly not Buddhist—that have since
come to be recognized as the most characteristic of the smaller ob-
jects produced by the Indus Valley culture of about three millenia
B. C.
He and Sir John Marshall, then director general of the Archaeo-
logical Survey of India, immediately realized that here were the
remains of a civilization whose existence had hitherto been little
more than dimly suspected—a few similar seals had been unearthed
two years before at Harappa, about 450 miles distant, on the old bed
of the Ravi River in the Montgomery district of the Punjab. This
site, which appears to have been an even larger and more important
city than Mohenjo-daro, lies not so far removed from the beaten
track, and it had, unfortunately, served at one time as a quarry for
railway ballast.
After a further examination of the new-found site, Sir John Mar-
shall published a preliminary account of it in the Illustrated London
News (Sept. 20, 1924), which immediately attracted keen attention.
A number of similar square stamp seals, bearing the same picto-
graphic script and animal devices, whose source had hitherto been
a mystery though they were found in Sumer and Elam, were at once
“re-excavated ” from the Louvre, Paris, and elsewhere; and many
similarities between the cultures of Sumer and the Indus valley were
noted. Mr. E. Mackay, at that time field director of the joint Oxford
and Field Museum (Chicago) expedition at Kish, had shortly before
unearthed one from among the foundations of a temple of Sargonic
date, where it had apparently been thrown in unnoticed with the
earth filling. He showed it to the late Miss Gertrude Bell, honorary
director of antiquities in Iraq, and a cast of it was sent to India for
comparison. The new-found civilization was, accordingly, tenta-
tively named the “ Indo-Sumerian ” civilization of the Indus valley,
and, from the Kish find, dated provisionally to the beginning of the
third millenium B. C.
432 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The Government of India thereupon decided to concentrate on the
thorough excavation of Mohenjo-daro and, on a smaller scale, of
Harappa, and the work at the former site has for the past five
winter seasons been intrusted to Mr. Mackay, who came to it from
Kish. A recently published 3-volume book, Mohenjo-daro and the
Indus Civilization (168 plates), edited by Sir John Marshall,’ deals
exhaustively with the discoveries up to 1927. A further large book
by Mr. Mackay, on the many new discoveries since that year will
shortly appear.
The unraveling of this mystery of the past has, unfortunately,
been very heavily handicapped by the fact that the people of Mohenjo-
daro and the companion cities wrote upon some perishable material,
such as wood, or bark, or parchment. The finding of their seals as
far afield as the Sumerian cities shows them to have been great
traders, and they must have developed a system of receipts, contracts,
and other commercial documents on the same lines as did the Sume-
rian merchants of Ur. There is abundant evidence, too, that the
city was excellently administered and that litigation was developed
among its citizens; legal documents must also have been customary.
But all have disappeared, destroyed by the dampness and salty
nature of the soil.
The pictographic characters upon the many hundreds of seals that
have been found unfortunately hardly take us anywhere in the deci-
pherment of the language. They most probably give the names
of the owners of the seals, with perhaps a title here and there. A
careful compilation of the various characters on the seals shows,
however, that well over 300 were in use; the language was not an
alphabetic one, but syllabic. But without any inscriptions long
enough to give inflections and verbal forms there is at present little
hope of working out this ancient language of the Indus Valley.
Possibly, however, further finds in Iraq may come to the student’s
aid. The Sumerians, and the Assyrians and Babylonians after them,
seem to have taken an interest in drawing up sign lists and compiling
grammatical forms. There is a chance that one day a tablet may be
discovered with the Sumerian equivalents of the Indus Valley picto-
graphs. Then it might be possible to identify the cities of the Indus
Valley with at present unidentified places with which the Sumerians
were wont to trade. For Mohenjo-daro is merely the modern local
name, “Place of the Dead”; of neither that city nor Harappa do
we know the name used by the inhabitants.
In the same way that the absence of inscriptions rules out the
possibility of drawing up any “history ” of the Indus Valley during
2 Mohenjo-daro and the Indus Civilization, edited by Sir John Marshall. 3 vols., 164
pls. Published by Arthur Probsthain, London, 19382.
MOHENJO-DARO—MACKAY 433
the fourth and third millenia B. C.—and here a not unnatural envy
of the comparative ease with which it is possible to give a story of
the vicissitudes of Ur must be admitted—the absence of wall deco-
rations makes the picturing of contemporary life less easy than
elsewhere; it is a matter of slowly piecing together minute bits of
evidence. The people of Mohenjo-daro were not artists in the sense
that they wished to surround themselves with beauty and adorn-
ment. From the paintings and sculptures on the tomb, and temple,
and palace walls of Egypt, a great deal has been learned about
their religious and domestic life, and of their arts and crafts, even
to the making of bread and of wine; the goldsmith, the basket
weaver, the ropemaker all ply their trades before our eyes. In
Sumer, Assyria, and Babylonia we see the life of the times portrayed
in inlay, or sculptures, or colored tiles. The farmer of the Tell al
‘Ubaid inlay milks his cow from behind; the king of Kish drives
his prisoners before him; we see Ur-Nammu carrying his basket of
bricks to build the temple tower at the Moon god’s command; and
the Assyrian monarch hunts or storms his enemy’s defenses and flays
him after defeating him in battle.
All this information we miss in the Indus Valley cities; nor is
one justified in assuming that wall decorations once existed, but have
perished. Traces there are here and there of plaster upon the walls,
but quite insignificant; nor do they show any signs of having been
adorned with anything more than roughly executed bands of color.
Inlay there is, but almost solely geometrical in design and clearly
used for the ornamentation of boxes and furniture rather than of
walls. Sculpture is represented among the finds, but confined to
crudely carved statues; in stone working there is nothing approach-
ing the artistry and skill of execution of the mural scenes of Egypt
and Assyria, save the engraving of the seals. The art of glazing was
practiced in the Indus Valley; but it was only applied to the manu-
facture of small articles of personal adornment, pieces of inlay, and
model animals.
Yet, for all this lack of direct assistance on the part of the dwellers
in Mohenjo-daro, it has been possible to build up a quite vivid pic-
ture of their everyday life, their religion, occupations, and sur-
roundings. And there is always the hope of some unexpected find
to buoy up the excavator at his work. He never knows what the
day may bring forth from Pandora’s box of secrets.
At the zenith of its prosperity, Mohenjo-daro was clearly a large
and important place. Its massive public buildings and solid, com-
fortable houses covered about a square mile—all made exclusively of
burnt brick, save where mud-brick fillings served to make high plat-
forms of the ruined older buildings, on which to raise the later ones
434 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
above the level of the oft-recurring floods. Streets and open spaces
there were, carefully planned out so that the buildings form rectangu-
lar blocks; and there is evidence that by-laws existed whose observ-
ance was enforced. To the sanitation of the city a degree of
attention was paid that is surprising, and to the elaborate drainage
system further reference will be made.
Of the outskirts of the city, our knowledge is at present somewhat
dim. No walls and fortifications had been definitely located when
the book on the excavations up to 1927 was written. The remains
of city walls would now he almost wholly buried beneath the thick
deposit of alluvium that the Indus has spread over all its valley
in the course of the ages. Their burnt-brick facings would in any
case have served as “ brick mines ” for near-by villages of later days,
as the vast ruins of Babylon have done. On the other hand, the
walls of Mohenjo-daro may not have been built on any very massive
scale. There is a curious lack of evidence of the raiding and de-
struction to which most cities of those days seem to have been sub-
jected. There are no quarters of the city as yet excavated which
were systematically destroyed by fire; nor is there a great variety or
quantity of weapons found. A few spearheads, blade axes, mace
heads, and sling balls have been found, but all these may have served
more peaceful purposes, or have been used for protection against
brigands, as are the axes which the Sindhis of to-day carry about
with them in the jungle paths. The modern Sindhi also shoots
clay pellets from a bow to protect his crops from marauding birds.
Though in cutting a well, masonry has been found at a depth of
some 26 feet below the general level of the plain, so that it is hard
to tell how far out from the present mounds earlier occupations of
the city extended, it is possible to delimit the latest city by the
presence of brick fields which must have lain outside the dwelling
quarters. These lie chiefly to the northeast and southeast of the
city, which implies that the prevailing winds, then as now, were
westerly. Potters’ kilns, too, lay nearer in to the center of the
mounds in the latest period of the city’s occupation. Indeed, in view
also of the fact that the masonry of the latest levels is markedly
inferior to that of the deeper earlier strata, it is clear that a definite
dwindling in both size and importance had set in before the city was
finally abandoned.
Why the city should have been abandoned it is hard to say. There
are many possible reasons—flood, pestilence, or the attacks of ene-
mies; or the river may suddenly have changed its course and left
the city cut off from communication with the other cities of India,
and elsewhere, with which it had been wont to trade. There are
arguments for or against all these reasons, but the sum of the evi-
MOHENJO-DARO—MACKAY 435
dence points to floods being at all events the predisposing cause of
the population going elsewhere.
The evidence that the city suffered very badly from the devastating
effect of floods and that the inhabitants lived in constant dread of
them is overwhelming. Wherever you walk in the excavated streets
and lanes, you see walls that lean precariously—the tops of some have
had to be removed lest they fall upon the diggers at their work—
and others which have sunk, so that the courses of the bricks wave
up and down. Quite often, indeed, when a house fell into ruin its
walls were filled up with mud brick to make a platform, on which
the new house would be moderately secure from flooding. Yet oft-
times the water penetrated into these artificial platforms, especially
where there was any admixture of the rubble of broken brick and
potsherds, of which so much is seen in the latest strata of the city.
If one pictures the people of Mohenjo-daro as dependent only on
their fields for supplies, the annual floods from the Indus would
have been a veritable godsend to them, bringing the fertilizing silt
for the wheat, which the examination of carbonized grains found in
the ruins has proved them to have grown, as well as for other crops.
But they were also traders, as their seals bear witness; and to be iso-
lated even for a short period would have proved disastrous. In
years of exceptional flood they were probably driven, as are the
people of the two modern Sindhi towns, Shikarpur and Larkana,
from time to time, to leave their city and take refuge temporarily
elsewhere. To such evacuations of the city perhaps may be ascribed
the two great breaks in the continuity of occupation which are ap-
parent. Merely the threat of such an upheaval a few times within
a short space of years would have sufficiently urged a change of site.
Again, the river may have shifted its bed, as it did in the summer
of 1927, when from a distance of over 4 miles away it came to within
3 miles of the ruins. The blow that it would have been to the city’s
trade, if the river had suddenly left its quays—for the Indus, or a
branch of it, seems to have flowed beside the city in the days of its
prosperity—can be imagined. Ur and other Sumerian cities met
with that fate and fell.
Pestilence may also have been a contributory cause of the fall of
Mohenjo-daro. It is a settled policy in India to-day that a village
stricken with plague is temporarily abandoned; and if most of its
inhabitants fall victims to the disease, which they may take away
with them, the village is perhaps never reinhabited. The hoards of
jewelry, and copper and bronze tools and weapons that have been
found below floor level strongly suggest that their owners buried
them for safety during a temporary absence, but never returned to
retrieve them.
149571—383——29
436 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
It is a curious feature of Mohenjo-daro that there is very little
available evidence as to the method of disposal of the dead. If
burial was the custom, the cemeteries must now lie many feet below
the thick riverine deposit of silt; and their discovery in such a large
area must be mainly a matter of chance. Or cremation may have
been practiced, and the remaining bones and ashes scattered in the
river, as you see done in India to-day. There is some evidence at
Harappa of the practice of cremation, and ashes have been found
in various large pots at Mohenjo-daro together with small cups
and other objects. But no definitely human bones have been re-
covered from these pots, save in a few isolated cases (the so-called
fractional burials, because only part of the skeleton is present),
and it is open to belief that the majority of these jars were merely
receptacles for household rubbish.
A certain number of skeletons have been found at Mohenjo-daro.
But of those unearthed in the earlier excavations and included in
the recently published book, only 15 can be regarded, from the
circumstances in which they were found and the associated objects,
as contemporaneous with the city. The remainder may have been
squatters in the ruins at any time within a century or two after
its abandonment, or even later than that. Of the 15, 14 lay in a
strange variety of attitudes in one single room, a circumstance that
itself gives pause to any that would deduce the racial elements of
the population from those few bones. The very fact that these
skeletons were together in one room, whereas the remains of the
rest of the large population are conspicuously absent, suggests that
they may have been a group of slaves or prisoners who died in
captivity of some sudden pestilence and were hastily covered over
where they lay instead of undergoing the customary burial or
cremation rites. Indeed, the fact that these skeletons represent
more than one race is in favor of their being foreigners, whether
prisoners or slaves. Of a number of skeletons more recently un-
earthed at Harappa, the associated pottery and other circumstances
make it probable that they date from some time later than the
final abandonment of Mohenjo-daro.
Until, then, a great many more skeletons are unearthed at both
sites, it would be unjustifiable to draw any definite conclusions from
anthropometrical evidence as to the race that formed the predominant
element in the Indus Valley at that time.
A study of the sculpture does not help very much, for though there
are features common to the few statue heads that have been found,
such as an extraordinarily low forehead and small cranium and a
tendency to narrowness and obliquity of the eyes, there are other
features that are entirely due to the lack of skill of the sculptors, such
MOHENJO-DARO—MACKAY 437
as a saucerlike ear with a central hole. One must then be content to
wait the finding of a cemetery or some other more definite evidence
before speculating too closely on the race that inhabited these ancient
cities.
Concerning the religion of the Indus Valley people, we find our-
selves on rather surer ground. Tor though there are so few statue
heads in stone, the large number of the terra-cotta female figurines
that have been found—mostly too well made to be children’s toys, and
all alike in dress and headdress—suggests that a mother-goddess was
worshiped. Her figure may have stood in its little shrine in every
house. This mother-goddess, if so she be, invariably wears a wide
girdle and several necklaces of beads, represented by pellets of clay
stuck on before the figurine was baked. Of her headdress, it may be
said that if that of Queen Shub-ad of Ur was strange and complicated
with its ribbons of gold, and beads, and lofty comb, the mother-god-
dess of Mohenjo-daro had just as strange a one. On either side of the
head was a pannier held in place by a broad fillet round the brows;
above stood a lofty fan-shaped arrangement, and, in addition, a
curious conical, hornlike projection hung down in front of each ear.
This mother-goddess may quite possibly be one with the goddess
already familiar to us as Ninkharsag of Sumer, Ishtar of Babylon,
Astarte, Isis, Aphrodite, and Venus of the later religions of the
early East, and Greece, and Rome.
But there were also typically Indian features in the religion of the
ancient Indus Valley. On one of the earliest seals found there is a
seated four-faced figure with legs in the yogi-like posture associated
with the state of contemplation. Around him stand four beasts—the
bull, the elephant, buffalo, and rhinoceros; and it is impossible to
avoid the conclusion that Siva was worshiped in the aspect of
Pasupati, Lord of Beasts.
An animal of some kind also occupies the place of importance in
the middle of each of the square stamp seals, with very few excep-
tions: The so-called unicorn, the short-horned and Brahmani bulls,
the elephant, tiger, buffalo, rhinoceros, fish-eating crocodile, or
some mythical beast. In many cases, some kind of cult object is asso-
ciated with the animal, which suggests that the gods of the Indus
Valley were worshiped in the aspect of some animal, as was Isis in
the form of the cow in ancient Egypt. Onasmall prism-shaped seal-
ing of pottery the cult object associated with the unicorn is even seen
carried on a pole by one of four men in procession, just as were the
“nome” ensigns of early Egypt. Clearly, then, a regular pantheon
of gods was worshiped in India before the coming of the Aryans, to
which can be traced several features of the Hindu religion of to-day.
438 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
In addition to the pottery figurines of the mother-goddess, enor-
mous numbers of model animals are found, some obviously no more
than children’s toys, and often so roughly made as to have been the
handiwork of the children themselves. But some are better made,
especially several bulls whose modeling is really very striking in its
spirit and efficiency; and these were very probably votive figures
associated with the religious ideas outlined above.
By far the most arresting, however, of the statues and figurines so
far unearthed is one of cast bronze—a dancing girl, posed in most
realistic attitude, with scornful mien, and quite unforgettable in
faithfulness of representation.
But the seals are unquestionably the most striking feature of the
small finds. Made of steatite, white, gray, or black, they are mostly
square in shape, with a divided boss upon the back, through a hole
in which a cord was passed, so that the seal could be worn at
neck or wrist. Oblong seals, with curved back and flat obverse bear-
ing a row of pictographic characters, and perforated from side to
side, are also found in considerable numbers; and, more rarely, small
square stamp seals with geometricai designs. The uniformity of de-
sien of the typical square stamp seal—the line of pictographs above
the animal, the cult-sign—is only paralleled by the uniformity of
style throughout the whole period during which the city was occu-
pied. And it seems likely that, although the city was rebuilt and re-
occupied several times, its total duration was not long enough to
allow of much change in the mode of writing or the accepted canons
of art.
Of the animal devices, the so-called unicorn was by far the most
popular. It is a strange beast, rather bull-like in body; and there is
the possibility that the one horn really represents two, one hiding the
other. The mangerlike cult object before it appears to have been
made of basket work—as are many of the mangers in the modern
villages round about the ancient site—or of leather work, but why
there should be upper and lower parts to it remains, for the present,
a mystery. Other animals especially favored were the short-horned
and Brahmani bulls. The frequent appearance of the elephant, rhi-
noceros, and tiger suggests that there was a rather larger rainfall
in ancient Sind than now, for they are forest-loving animals and
at present quite unknown in the Indus Valley. It is noticeable also
that the lion, a denizen of dry open country, has never yet been found
upon a seal, though these animals still exist in Kathiawar to the
south of Sind.
It is on the seals that the dating of Mohenjo-daro largely depends;
though there is ample evidence from the close similarities between
Jarge numbers of the small objects found in the three cities, from
MOHENJO-DARO—MACKAY 439
the style of and motifs on the painted pottery, from architectural
features, and so on, that the later levels of Mohenjo-daro are practi-
cally contemporaneous with the earlier levels of Ur and Kish. In
addition to the seal found by Mr. Mackay at Kish, which establishes
the pre-Sargonic date of the Indus civilization, i. e., prior to about
2750 B. C., Mr. Woolley has found two other seals of Indian origin
at Ur. One of these appears to have belonged to an enterprising
merchant from one of the Indus Valley cities, who realized that his
customers in Sumer could not read his name as written. He accord-
ingly had it engraved in cuneiform characters which are quite defi-
nitely in the style of about 3000 B. C. And not only his clients, but
archeologists of 5,000 years later have reason to be grateful to him.
In the maze of buildings that have been excavated, those that first
catch the eye are naturally the Buddhist stwpa and its surrounding
monastic buildings. Raised high above the level of the wide alluvial
plain, they must have presented a striking landmark when at their
zenith. The umbrella that in those days would have crowned the
stipa was very probably gilded over, and dazzling would it have been
in the brilliant sunshine of Sind. Even now that the umbrella and
the dome beneath it exist no longer, the ruined mud-brick drum is
seen from miles around.
These Buddhist buildings, though made of bricks baked by the
original inhabitants of the ancient city, are well-nigh 3,000 years
more recent in date, for a pot full of coins of King Vasudeva
(185-220 A. D.) of the Kushan Dynasty has been unearthed in one of
the monk’s cells.
The most striking of the public buildings of the early city itself
marks an interesting departure from the temples and palaces of
the ancient sites that have been excavated in other countries of the
Fast. It is an imposing structure built around a great tank—
entirely of burnt brick, well and truly laid. Indeed, the masonry
would reflect high credit on the modern builder with the closeness
of its joints and the smoothness, due to rubbing down, of the walls
and floor of the tank. The latter measures 39 feet long by 23 feet
wide, and the water was entered by flights of steps at its northern
and southern ends. These steps appear to have been covered with
wood, for there are slots at either end of each tread to take the
ends of planks; and it is not unlikely that thin sheet copper was
laid over the wood. The tank itself was rendered water-tight by a
thick puddling of clay between two thicknesses of its walls, and
also—a refinement that speaks volumes for the advanced stage of that
ancient civilization—a layer of bitumen, which is still to be seen.
Surrounding the tank was a wide platform, at the back of which
fenestrations in the walls led to a number of rooms of different
440 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
sizes and shapes, whose uses can only be surmised. The remarkable
thickness of the outer walls of this great building, whose external
faces have a pronounced inward slope like the containing walls of
the Egyptian temples, strongly suggests that there were other rooms
above, possibly opening onto a gallery round the tank. The latter
was probably open to the sky, though perhaps it was covered by an
awning.
The purpose of this very unusual building was in all probability
religious; as in modern India, it was perhaps customary to perform
ablutions before entering the temples of the gods. The great tank
building is close beside the stzipa mound; and it is not unlikely that
the mass of ruins on which the Buddhists built their stdwpa—the
highest mound of the ancient city—was once itself a temple. For
all through the history of the world sacred places have tended to
retain their sanctity from generation to generation.
Though as yet no building that can definitely be said to be a
temple has been cleared, among the number that are obviously not
dwelling houses there are several that might be, if only the char-
acteristics of a temple of those days in the Indus Valley were known.
Of images that might be those of deities, however, none have been
found complete, save a somewhat battered, crouched figure of a
man, whose mouth is apparently wide open as if to sing or shout.
It has been suggested that the great tank may have been used for
keeping sacred fish, or even crocodiles, as in the precincts of various
temples and shrines in India to-day; but the available evidence is in
favor of its having been used for ablutions. For it is one of the
most remarkable features of Mohenjo-daro that personal cleanliness
was clearly something of a fetish: To every house its ablution pave-
ment with but few exceptions—a well-paved floor, where water was
poured over the body from a water jar, sloping gently to one corner,
whence a drain hole through the outer wall of the house carried
away the water into the street drain without. In the poorer quarters,
the water ran into a big earthenware jar outside, from which it
percolated away into the soil, leaving any solid matter to be removed
by the city’s scavengers.
In the main streets, the drainage system can only be described as
elaborate; it marks a high degree of civilization. Well-laid brick
channels run down either side of each of the wider streets, receiving
tributaries from the narrower lanes at right angles, and also the out-
flows from the houses. These drains did not le open, as do the
channels in many parts of the modern towns of Sindh. They were
covered over with bricks, laid flat, on edge, pentroofwise, or at a
slant. The particularly large and deep street drains in the vicinity
of the great tank building were roofed with big blocks of stone, that
MOHENJO-DARO—MACKAY 441
were probably brought by river from Sukkur, some 56 miles distant,
the nearest spot at which such stone is obtainable. We can imagine
that periodically the streets of Mohenjo-daro were “up” for the
cleaning and repair of the drains beneath their surface. And it is a
quaint commentary on the persistence of human traits that here and
there a contractor substituted a covering of brick for the more
valuable stone before reburying the section of drain to which he had
to attend.
In three places in the city so far excavated, there are drains of
exceptional size and importance. They are corbel-roofed, for the
inhabitants of the Indus Valley in those days seem to have been
ignorant of the true arch, though they used wedge-shaped bricks for
lining their wells; they were high enough for a man to walk through
them in a crouched position; and they had small channels in their
floors that lock quite adequate in themselves to take the drainage
from buildings of ordinary size.
One of these culverts served to drain the great tank; but as the
opening through which the water ran out to this drain measures not
more than a foot each way, so that it would easily have been carried
away by the channel in the floor, one is led to ask what might have
been the purpose of the big vaulted passage, roofed over and with a
manhole for someone to descend from above to clean it out. There is
the companion question to be answered: How was the great tank
filled? There is a large well in one of the eastern rooms of the
building, but there is no channel from it to fill the tank, nor evidence
of any mechanical device by which sufficient water could be supplied
from it. It has been suggested by Mr. Mackay that after the tank
was emptied the culvert was cleaned out by a man who descended
through the manhole; that the outflow at the far end was then closed ;
and that the culvert was filled up from a canal by some such means as
the Persian water wheel or a shaduf. If the culvert were filled to its
roof through a length that would bring it to the nearest point where
it could have reached a canal or branch of the river, the water that
ran back through the drain-hole into the tank would have filled the
latter to the depth of some 5 feet. Unfortunately, the culvert has
been destroyed at the further end, partly by the Buddhist monks in
the quest for brick, and partly by the hand of time. And definite
proof that the inhabitants of the city were possessed of so high a
degree of imagination and ingenuity so early in the history of man
is lost.
The majority of the street drains ran into soak or sediment pits.
In the former, the floors of the pits were unpaved, so that the water
percolated away into the soil. The mud that was left was cleared out
by scavengers, for whose use there were footholds that still remain
442 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
in the sides of some of the pits. In the sediment pits, on the other
hand, the floor was of brick, and the surplus water ran off through
an outflow near the top after depositing its solid contents. It has
not been possible to trace the ultimate destination of the larger
street drains on the outside of the city, owing to the denudation by
time and weather of the outer slopes of the mounds.
It is probable that it was mostly water from the bathrooms and
rainwater from the roof that was carried off by this elaborate system 5
but there is evidence in certain parts of the city, at all events in the
later periods that suggests that sewage also ran down from holes
in the walls of upper stories or from the roofs, as in modern Sindhi
towns, where it is seen trickling down the walls in the poorer, and
even in the not so poor quarters. As each house of any importance
had its own well, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that percola-
tion from the soak pits and drainage jars of the poorer quarters must
have given rise to epidemics of disease from time to time, despite
the excellent drainage of the more spacious streets and houses.
Let us now look into a typical dwelling house to see how the
people lived. ‘To enter it, you must turn into a side lane, for there
were practically no doors opening on to the main streets, save those
of public buildings. As elsewhere in the modern East, no man made
outward display of his wealth, and the ground floor of his house
presented a frontage blank of doors and windows to the public gaze.
Inside there was usually a courtyard—mostly rather small, and to
one side of the building—in which there was a well. It appears
that often a householder would give access to his well to his neigh-
bors also, in which case it was secluded from the rest of the court-
yard by an enclosing wall. And the brick benches beside some of
these wells and the deep pot marks in the floors bespeak a hearty
interchange of the latest news of the town.
There was probably at least one upper story, for not only were
the outer walls of the dwelling houses extraordinarily thick and,
moreover, sloped inward on the outer face to give greater strength,
but there are one or two stairways that even now have landings and
probably did not lead solely to the roof. Outside stairways, of
which there are several examples, may perhaps indicate that more
than one family lived in the same building, occupying different floors.
This seems all the more probable when you see two drains closely side
by side, one from the ground floor and the other running down in
the thickness of the wall.
The houses can scarcely have been well lit, for what few windows
there were seem to have been little more than ventilators set high in
the wall. But in a land of such blazing sunlight and heat, large
windows are rarely made. As said before, nothing was done to
MOHENJO-DARO—-MACKAY 443
beautify the dwelling rooms, unless embroidered hangings took the
place of the sculptures and paintings and inlay work of the other
peoples of those days. Hangings, whether of cotton material or
wool, would inevitably have perished, leaving no trace behind. One
tiny piece of cotton fabric that had most fortunately survived, em-
bedded in and preserved by the patina on a silver jar, proved on
microscopical examination to be true cotton—the first known in the
history of the world.
Cooking was done, as by the Sindhi woman of to-day, over little
fires of brushwood between brick supports for the cooking vessels;
of the latter many are found, both in pottery and copper. Grinding
stones, pestles and mortars, and strainers there are in plenty; and
little dishes divided into four compartments probably served as
cruets. Spoons were cut from shells of varying sizes and have a
strange 1-sided shape, which, curiously enough, was afterwards
copied in pottery. Beef, mutton, pork, fish, and even turtle and the
flesh of the fish-eating crocodile served as food, according to the
evidence of rubbish piles and household refuse jars. And flint
knives were struck as required from large flint cores, save in the
jarger houses where copper knives had already come into use.
Grain and other foodstuffs were kept in huge pottery jars that
remind one of the story of Ali Baba; they were probably set in
wooden stands, and often in brick-lined depressions in the floors, to
keep them upright, for none of them have a stable base and many are
actually pointed below. Clothing, too, may have been stored in these
jars—as is done in the modern Sindhi village—to protect it from the
attentions of rats and various insects.
Though as yet it is uncertain how the women dressed, they clearly
attended to their personal beauty; for besides the many ornaments
unearthed, such as necklaces of beads of gold, silver, copper, glaze,
and semiprecious stones, earrings, bracelets. rings, and even nose
studs, cosmetic jars are found in their hundreds. All are small, but
they are of several different shapes; and they had covers to keep
their valued contents clean and safe from the danger of drying up.
The men seem to have worn a kind of kilt, not unlike the dhoti of the
modern Hindu, and a shawl, which was patterned according to the
evidence of one of the statues found, just as are the shawls of the
Sindhis of to-day in hand-printed colors. This garment was thrown
over the left shoulder and drawn round under the right arm like the
Roman toga.
Two aspects in particular of the daily lives of these remotely an-
cient people bring home to us their common humanity with ourselves,
their love of children and their weakness for a game of chance. The
number and variety of toys found in street and home is remarkable.
444 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Model animals, some of them with heads made to nod by pulling a
cord, balls and elephants of pottery that rattle, clay birds that are
whistles, toy carts with pottery wheels and drawn by model oxen
there are in plenty; and small boys of those days seem to have
played with marbles. Numbers of gamesmen are also found, cut
in shell or stone, and ivory throwing sticks and dice. The latter
have the numbers arranged on different sides from those on modern
dice, but no doubt they served their purpose just as well.
Many questions still remain to be answered, and a great deal more
spade work must yet be done; but there is no reason to doubt that
further finds both at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro and at other sites
inhabited by the same people, together with the discoveries con-
tinually being made in Iraq and elsewhere, will one day give us
valuable clues to the race, the language, and the history of these
mysterious people of 5,000 years ago.
Stee el
“2Z61 04 told pojeavoxe ueeq pey ST ynoqe ‘orwq-oluayoyy Aq poIOAOD sodov eIOUT IO OFZ 91 JO
‘DO dG 00S2 OLD '& OOOE 3HOsSARG WON ONILVG ‘VIGNI HSILIYG ‘GNIS NI ‘ONVGQ-OfNSHO-W 3O ALID AHL AO SNINYM
Aeypr[A|—7¢6| “qaodayy ueluosyyIWIG
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Mackay
2. Brahmani bull
1. Horned and tailed figure
attacking a tiger
3. Elephant
4. Unicorn 5. A composite myth-
ical beast
SEALS FROM MOHENJO-DARO
These seals are of steatite, white, gray, or black, and mostly square in shape, with a double
boss upon the back, through a hole in which a cord was passed so that the seal could be worn
at neck or wrist
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Mackay PLATE 3
1. One of the crude toy animals found at Mohenjo-Daro
(2134s
2. A girdle of fine carnelian beads, each 2 or 3 inches in length, and fragments of faience, from Mohenjo
Daro
SMALL OBJECTS FOUND AT MOHENJO-DARO
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Mackay PLATE 4
1. Head of mother-goddess, pottery
3. Statue head, stone
2. Bronze dancing girl 4. Statue head, stone
FIGURE AND STATUE HEADS FROM MOHENJO-DARO
HISTORICAL CYCLES?
By O. G. S. CRAWFORD
[With 2 plates]
History has been studied and histories written for more than two
millennia. From time to time attempts have been made to discern
some pattern or design running through it. But they have usually
failed because the data have been inadequate. You can not see the
pattern of a carpet when only a minute portion is uncovered, and
you can not discern the pattern of history until large portions of it
are available for examination. It was not until the nineteenth
century that really long vistas were opened up by archeological
exploration in the east. Here, in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Crete,
there were found the remains of forgotten civilizations; and Sir
Flinders Petrie, one of the pioneers in that work of epoch making in
the literal sense, has himself sketched an outline of the pattern he
believes he can see emerging. The present essay is an attempt to
interpret and explain that pattern.
Only from an altitude of 5 feet or so can the pattern of a carpet
be seen; it looks quite different when you are lying on the floor. In
just the same way crop markings on an ancient site can only be seen
properly from above. ‘To see the sweep of history rather than its
details you must stand back and view it from a height of detachment.
History is the time aspect of human affairs—the fourth dimension
in which we can not travel. The difficulty may be appreciated by a
comparison with geography and the space aspect. Geography is
concerned with the surface of the earth, and is therefore essentially a
study in three dimensions. Its primary objective is to construct a
map of the whole world, and this task, now nearly complete, is per-
formed by millions of measurements of lengths and angles. From
this world map gradually emerge certain generalizations, whose very
existence may never have been suspected, even by the map makers
themselves. The geographer, geologist, and economist generalize
upon the basis provided by the surveyor. The geologist can reduce
to order the apparently chaotic mountain ranges which cross the
1 Reprinted, with the omission of one plate, by permission from Antiquity, vol. 5, No. 17,
March, 1931.
445
446 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
world from the Pyrenees to Patagonia. He can even forecast the
probable existence of strata, which, without the map, would forever
have remained unknown. (Thus was the Kentish coal field dis-
covered.) These results have all been achieved within the last cen-
tury or two, and they are made possible by the fact that we can travel
in space.
But we can not travel in time. We can not live in ancient Greece
or in Ur. It is impossible to compile a chart or chronological table
of the past as complete and accurate in its own way as was our
world map. The most we can do is to laboriously piece together
such fragments as survive, in written records or in the rubbish heaps
of buried cities. It must necessarily be a long time before generali-
zations can be built up on such foundations, before we can see the
pattern of history plainly.
There is the added risk of seeing a pattern where none exists.
With so many mere scraps of knowledge, the historian of mankind
may be tempted to select only those which suit his purpose. But
some kind of selective treatment is demanded. If the explanation
suggested is the right one, all the facts—both those first selected and
the rest—wili eventually find their place in the scheme, or at least be
found not inconsistent with it; and the theory will come to be
accepted. The theory of evolution was formed in this way, and it
is, of course, still universally accepted. If the explanation here put
forward can be used as the basis of forecasting, it will acquire
additional merit.
Complete originality is not claimed for the ideas here suggested.
Neither the organic concept of society (the view that it is a living
organism) nor the rhythmical or wave theory of civilization is a
recent invention, The one has been developed by many philosophers,
by Comte, Spencer, Lilhenfeld, and Schafile for instance. The other
has been developed by Petrie? and Spengler—and doubtless by
others. No one, however, except Spengler, has brought the wave
theory of civilization into relation with the organic concept of
society and shown that the two are really inseparable. That is what
I propose now to do, so far as that is possible within the limits of
an article. To elaborate the theory, to clothe the skeleton with
flesh, would demand a far greater knowledge of human history and
of biology than I can possibly claim. It would be well worth doing.
Meanwhile I feel impelled to say something about it, however
inadequate, for, if the theory be true, it is obviously of very far-
reaching importance.
4 Sir Flinders Petrie’s Revolutions of Civilization (Harper’s Library of Living Thought,
3d ed., 1922) was first published in 1911; but the author informs me that the main
thesis was worked out by him many years before this date.
HISTORICAL CYCLES—-CRAWFORD 447
Sir Flinders Petrie’s views are set forth in a little book of not more
than 14,000 words—about twice as long only as this article. Civili-
zation, he maintains, is intermittent; it has its seasons—a spring of
preparation, a summer of fulfillment, an autumn of decline, and a
winter of death. In each region cycles of civilization have succeeded
each other several times; and on each occasion the phases are marked
by similar characteristics which may be detected by objective methods
of study. The evidence of sculpture is valuable, partly because it
is less perishable than most works of art; admittedly, however, it
“is only one, and not the most important, of the many subjects
that might be compared throughout various ages,” but “it is avail-
able over so long a period in so many countries” (p. 9). It is
therefore used as the main, but not the only criterion in his survey.
Others are painting, literature, music, mechanics, and wealth; po-
litical development is also brought into the scheme, though only oc-
casionally referred to.
The region regarded as a composite whole is that of Europe and
Egypt. The center of gravity shifted within it from Egypt to
Greece and thence to Rome and western Europe; but there was
throughout the area a series of phases or waves of culture, separated
by troughs. During the last 10,000 years or thereabouts he finds evi-
dence of eight phases or great years. The first two are prehistoric;
then came five covering the whole dynastic period of Egypt; last of
all came the classical and modern (or west European) phases. It
is possible to criticize the phases as Sir Flinders Petrie visualizes
them, though there are few who have the range of knowledge required
for such a task. What matters now is the existence of such phases,
which some deny. To this main issue all others are subsidiary.
We consider that Sir Flinders Petrie has proved his case quite
conclusively. Ever since we first read the book 20 years ago, we have
been testing the theory against the background of whatever we have
at the time been studying, whether in books or museums or in the
world of to-day; and we have found it fit the facts. A theory
which works is already half proved.
Kach phase passes from archaism through maturity to decline.
“The careful working of detail separately, without treating it as
part of a whole to be blended together, is the essential mark of
archaism ” (pp. 21, 22). Note, in passing, that this is a purely
objective test, quite free from the bias of taste or prejudice and
capable of being applied almost mechanically by an expert. Ex-
amples of archaism in art will probably occur to all. Such are the
early Greek statues with the “archaic” grin, preceding the period
of classical maturity. In the west European phase, archaic begin-
nings (as at Chartres) blossomed into maturity in the middle of
448 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
the thirteenth century (as at Bamberg, Strasburg, and Salisbury).
The difference between archaism and maturity is well brought out
by comparing the bronze doors of San Zeno at Verona with those
panels of mature and almost overripe perfection on the doors of
the baptistry at Florence (pls. 1, 2). The same cyclical evolu-
tion may be seen in medieval brasses and sepulchral effigies, the period
of decline being clearly marked in the stiff and lifeless character
of Elizabethan examples.
Similar features are observed in painting and the other arts which,
it is claimed, reach their maturity in any given period, not simul-
taneously but in an orderly succession. Thus sculpture was the first
to reach perfection both in the classical and west European phases.
Painting reached its zenith in west European art about 1500, litera-
ture about 1600, and music about 1800.
There is a tendency for each of these eight phases to last longer
than its predecessor, and for the transition or hiatus between each to
become greater and (for the people of the time) less uncomfortable.
The last phase before the present, the classical phase, is regarded
by Petrie asa single phase. We think it possible however that it was
a curve, or wave, with a double peak, or crest, represented by Greece
and Rome respectively. It seems too that Rome began where Greece
left off, perhaps after some recapitulation of the earlier stages. Is it
not possible that the present phase of western civilization also has,
though to a less degree, a double peak represented by Europe and
America? ‘There are many resemblances between modern America
and ancient Rome; and Europe now plays in some respects the réle
of ancient Greece. Europe, like Greece, has been enfeebled by futile
internecine strife and competitive armaments; but remains a store-
house of dead art to be ransacked by trans-Atlantic connoisseurs. As
M. Merlin has pointed out (Antiquity, vol. 4, p. 413) the Romans
pillaged Greece in precisely the same manner.
For the rest the reader must consult the book itself, which is too
compact and too full of ideas to be adequately summarized. This
article assumes as proven the theory there set forth, and attempts to
correlate it with a yet more inclusive generalization. Some day,
perhaps, we may develop it in full.
A few words, however, must be said about its causes which Sir
Flinders Petrie suggests as responsible for the existence of phases.
Whether they wholly explain the cyclical development of culture
may perhaps be questioned. It is probable, however, that they are at
least contributary causes, as he himself says. He points out that the
phase or great year is heralded by invasion. Historically these in-
yasions have generally been from colder into warmer lands, from
HISTORICAL CYCLES—CRAWFORD 449
regions where life is hard into those where it is easier. Inured to
striving in their homeland, the invaders have developed by natural
selection into a race of hardy folk; and the impetus of their more
energetic mode of life carries them forward, in the better land of
their adoption, to greater and higher achievements than the natives.
They “thrive vastly ” there, “ until their tone is let down to their
conditions ” (p. 125). There are, moreover, many new problems of
adjustment to be solved. When this is achieved and a régime of liy-
ing established, complete freedom of expression is soon gained and
“strife being ended, decay sets in shortly after.” The accumulation
of capital contributes to the same result, by lessening the need of
effort. “The maximum of wealth must inevitably lead to the down-
fall” (p. 126).
Changes of climate may be another contributory cause, and periods
of desiccation do actually coincide with periods of migration, but they
do not (Petrie thinks) account for the regularity of the phase. This
he attributes to the lapse of time required to effect a complete fusion
of different racial stocks, which he calculates should take from six to
eight centuries, and the expianation, wherever it can be tested by the
facts of history, seems adequate. “The complete crossing of two races
produces the maximum of ability, and * * * from that point
repeated generations diminish the ability * * *, But probably
each of the other causes before noted may bear a part.” (p. 124). He
concludes with the suggestion that ‘‘ eugenics will, in some future
civilization, carefully segregate fine races and prohibit continual
mixture, until they have a distinct type, which will start a new
civilization when transplanted. The future progress of mankind
may depend as much on isolation to establish a type as on fusion
of types when established ” (p. 131).
As a corollary of this we would add that the longer a culture re-
mains isolated, developing along its own lines, the more specialized it
becomes and the less easy it is to cross it with another. It gradually
becomes a different species. It isa biological fact that the mating of
individuals of different species is infertile. Too great contrasts
produce sterility. It seems also to be a rule of history that when a
higher (or more advanced) culture invades and conquers a lower it
exterminates it and often the people too. Thus the Roman invasion
killed late Celtic art in Britain, and western civilization has proved
fatal to many primitive races. The invasion of one barbarism by
another is also infertile and might perhaps be compared with the
marriage of children. It seems as if the relative age of mating
cultures has got to be exactly right, as well as the degree of their
affinity.
450 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The new phase is conceived when the invader cells swarm in from
without. The social body gradually takes shape; the structural lines
form and become more and more complex. With maturity comes full
self-consciousness. With the approach of age the culture gradually
loses energy until at last it dies, generally to be reborn in the same
manner. These processes obey the laws of growth because they are
life processes. ‘They can not be forced. Violent attempts to do so
generally fail (though sometimes they may be as necessary as a surgi-
cal operation). ‘The way to stimulate growth is by means of edu-
cational propaganda.
What emerges from all this, is, we think, a generalization of wide
and far-reaching importance, namely, that each phase of civilization
has a life of its own and may be regarded as if it were a species
composed of living creatures. The phase as a whole corresponds to
the life of the species as a whole; the units composing the phase at
any given moment of history (the human beings) correspond to the
individuals composing the species. Both come into existence and
pass through maturity to decline and extinction, to be replaced as a
rule by another phase or species issuing from it. The evolution of
culture is exactly parallel to the evolution of organic life as a whole.
The idea is not of course new; but it has never, we think, been
effectively grafted on to the wave theory of civilization. One of its
most recent advocates, Sir Arthur Keith, goes so far as to say:
“The resemblance between the body physiological and the body
politic is more than an analogy; it is a reality.”
The cultural community is the unit, and, to conserve the analogy, it
is a multicellular organism. But, in point of fact, multicellular or-
ganisms have evolved from a single cell, and if the analogy is a just
one, we should find that communities have done so too. History tells
us that they do. The unit of the multicellular organism is a single
cell; the unit of the community is a single human being. We may
take Homo Sapiens when he first appears as representing this unit,
before its incorporation into the first community, represented, in a
slightly advanced stage perhaps, by the city states of Sumer (Ur,
Kish, and so forth). The transition may have been relatively
abrupt, for we now know that, up to about 5000 or 4000 B. C., the
caves of Kurdistan were still inhabited by primitive stone-age indi-
viduals, as they had been for countless ages before. The latest relics
found in the top layers of these caves correspond exactly with the
3 Concerning Man’s Origin (Putnam, 1928), quoted in a most suggestive article on can-
cer in the British Medical Journal (October 5, 1929, p. 607), by W. Sampson Handley,
Meas) WSR CS:
4 Barth regarded the family rather than the individual as the unit.
HISTORICAL CYCLES—-CRAWFORD 451
earliest found in Sumer and Assyria.® Clearly therefore at some
date round about 5000 B. C. the solitary free-roving human cell was
integrated into the multicellular organism of a community. The
same change occurred elsewhere, probably about the same time. The
predynastic Egyptians succeeded the neolithic desert rovers of the
Sahara, and may well have been directly descended from them. The
neolithic Cretans became the citizens of Cnossos.
Together with this integration, and as a necessary accompaniment
of it, there developed specialization of function. The hunter is a
law unto himself, self-determined and independent, just like the free-
swimming cell. The citizen of a civilized community has already
sacrificed much of his independence in exchange for more leisure and
an easier mode of existence. Division of labor has arrived, and with
it all the implications of the social contract.
The course of biological evolution is very similar. From the single
cell there developed, some eleven hundred million years ago,
organisms composed of many cells living together in a communal life like that
of a small village or a great city. The cells are now specialized into groups, and
each kind of cell follows a trade or profession, exerting for the community its
special skill, receiving from the community in exchange food, warmth, and pro-
tection. To carry out the scheme and to insure that each cell receives its due
share of food, and of such cell products as it no longer makes for itself, elaborate
systems of conduits—the circulatory, lymphatic, and glandular systems—have
been evolved ; and equally elaborate machinery, comparable with the telegraphs,
telephones, and newspaper and business offices of the city, brings information of
the outer world, and controls the activities of the cell community.’
Civilization advances by the integration of its cells into ever larger
and larger organizations—from the family to the tribe, city, and na-
tion, and from nation to empire, confederacy, and league. The proc-
ess, as we have seen, is not continuous but spasmodic. The integrated
multicellular community is an organism with a life cycle of its own.
The cycle ends with the break-up or death of the organism. The
tribe is dispersed; the city is destroyed; the nation decays, shrivels
up, and disappears. But a new one generally ® rises from the ashes
of the old. The constituent cells, the individual human beings, live
>In caves near Sulaimanya in southern Kurdistan, Miss Garrod found Mousterian (old
paleolithic) flint implements in the lower layers, overlaid by a later paleolithic layer and
finally by a top neolithic layer containing painted pottery of the antediluvian Sumerian
type. See Bull. Amer. School Prehist. Research (G. G. MacCurdy, director), No. 6, pp.
8—43, March, 1930.
®We may, of course, regard whatever lay between the solitary hunter and the village
or city state as transitional and as corresponding perhaps to the early cell aggregations
of biology—such as flagellate colonies, sponges, and polyps.
7 Handley in British Medical Journal (op. cit. supra).
* But not always; some of the American civilizations for instance have vanished utterly
and have not been replaced by any other.
149571— 33 30
452 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
on; and though not individually immortal, like body cells, they are so
in bulk, and in effect.
It is this multicellular social organism °—or rather the species to
which it belongs—that, during its phase of existence, passes through
those stages which Sir Flinders Petrie has described. We may speak
of this unit as a culture, a civilization, a community, or (metaphori-
cally) as an organism. These, however, are abstractions. What we
are dealing with in reality is a unit or individual in four dimensions.
The community—such as a city state, for instance—has a geographical
extension in three dimensions and a temporal one in the fourth. Its
full content is, let us say, 200 square miles x 500 years.1° This is per-
fectly plain when we are dealing with a multicellular organism like
a human being, whose biography can be written. Civilization, when
it first appears, represents life organizing itself again de novo at a
higher level of consciousness, taking as its unit or brick an intelligent
human being instead of an unintelligent cell. Obviously therefore our
inquiry into the origin and nature of a civilized community must
begin with an investigation of the origin and nature of this human be-
ing; just as the study of biology begins with the problem of the ori-
gin of the living cell from which all living things are descended. The
biological problem is still unsolved, but there seems to be a funda-
mental difference—can it be merely one of organization ?—between
living and dead matter. The birth of life marks the beginning of a
new chapter, though we can not find the page in the book of nature.
So, too, there is an uncertainty about the precise moment when
Homo Sapiens emerged from Homo Insipiens, but everyone recog-
nizes the difference between, say, the most primitive savage and his
lemurian ancestor. Another new chapter has been begun. It may
be suggested that the essential change is from instinctive to intelli-
gent reaction, or, stated in other terms, from passive adaptation to
environment to active control of it. (This does not of course imply
that instinct and adaptation cease to function; we know that they do;
it is rather comparable with the fact that living matter retains
many of the properties of dead matter, along with the new ones
added.) Man as such comes first upon the stage when he becomes
a tool-making animal; that marks the beginning of chapter 2,
chapter 1 being the birth of life.
®In the analogy we contpare the life history of a human community with the life his-
tory of a species. But we compare the organization of that community to the organiza-
tion (structure, function, etc.) of the individual multicellular organism. The human
community recapitulates, as we shall see below, the life history, not of the individual
organism but of the species. But since the organism itself, as the species develops, re-
capitulates its own evolution, there is a general resemblance between the life history of
both organism and community.
10There is also, of course, a certain thickness, but for our present purpose this may
be ignored.
HISTORICAL CYCLES—CRAWFORD 453
For countless ages man remained a solitary tool-using hunter.
He improved his tools and evolved physically as an animal, from the
stage represented by the Piltdown skull to that of the later cave
dwellers where, physically, he still remains.1 Then, somewhere
about 5000 B. C., when the Ice Age was practically over, he began
a new chapter by discovering agriculture and the domestication of
animals, and by ceasing to be a wanderer. That was the second
epoch-making discovery of human history, for it made sedentary
life in communities possible. Some freedom of movement was tem-
porarily sacrificed for the innumerable compensations received in
exchange. We are still living in this chapter.
The essence of this new integration of human society is surely
that it is, to a far greater extent than the first, a self-conscious unit.
The degree of self-consciousness in a community may be relatively
greater or smaller, but it is invariably present In some measure.
By some it is nowadays called patriotism, by others group conscious-
ness. Patriotism in the last resort is merely the mutual offensive
action and reaction of communities; it could not exist without an in-
herent potentiality of conflict. This new self-conscious unit has come
into existence through the amalgamation of hitherto separate indi-
viduals. It is a new manifestation. It stands in the same relation
to the individuals which compose it as does the whole body of an
animal to the cells of its body. It has in fact evolved in much the
same way. Why has it done so? Surely because, being a form of
life, it obeys the laws of development of all living things and
recapitulates. It is even possible to be more precise. If this is
recapitulation, it should be of much shorter duration than that which
is recapitulated. We do not, unfortunately, know how many years
it took to evolve the first multicellular organism from the first cell,
but we can not err in reckoning it in hundreds of millions of years.’”
From the invention of tools to the first city state can not have been
more than a few hundreds of thousands of years at the outside, for
man himself is not much older.
It next becomes necessary to determine, if we can, to what bio-
logical stage or stages belong the civilized communities of historic
times. To do so we must examine the characteristics of a civilized
community.
It is primarily a self-conscious unit acting as a single whole. This
implies a single directing brain or seat of consciousness which can
compel such action or rely upon its performance. “The simplest
rudimentary conception of political action is this, that one man
Por an elaboration of this argument, see my Man and His Past (Oxford, 1921),
especially the first two chapters.
1 See The Science of Life, by H. G. Wells, J. S. Huxley, and G. P. Wells, vol. 1, p. 207
(table of geological formations with approximate relative lengths and duration in years).
454 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
imposes a command upon another.” +* (There may, of course, be the
complications of decentralized control, but they do not affect the
main proposition.) A civilized community has therefore definitely
got beyond the stage of mere cell aggregations. Perhaps the city
state of Sumeria corresponds to a trilobite. It is in Sumer that we
find the earliest clear manifestation of group consciousness, repre-
sented, precisely as it should be, by the deification of the city itself.
At Fara, the most primitive Sumerian site that has yet (in 1916) been
examined, we find the god Shuruppak giving his own name to the city around
his shrine, and Ningirsu of Lagash dominates and directs his people from the
first. Other city gods ... are already in existence.... The authority of
each god did not extend beyond the limits of his own people’s territory. Bach
city was content to do battle on his behalf, and the defeat of one was
synonymous with the downfall of the other.”
Here we have, at the very dawn of history, precisely what accord-
ing to our theory we should expect to find—the self-consciousness of
the new individual, the group, expressed in terms of religion, and its
patriotism in terms of conflict.
The character of the community is best seen in action; and in
primitive civilizations external action is generally synonymous with
warfare. Primitive tribal warfare, like the still earlier encounters of
individual hunters, is the blind instinctive clash of conflicting in-
terests, acting usually under the stimulus of hunger or sex. The
reaction, too, is direct and immediate. The warfare of city states
probably proceeded from similar causes; but it was less instinctive
and more intelligently controlled. The warfare of European nations,
or of groups of nations, probably represents the highest achievement
of concerted group action yet reached by the human race. It is there-
fore necessary to devote a few lines to it, in order to see more clearly
what biological stage we have to-day reached in our recapitulation.
The organization of a modern army in the field is a very beautiful
thing. Such an army is a most delicately adjusted living organism,
whose morale—rightly prized very highly—is its soul. It consists
also of brain and body; the commander in chief is the brain; the
soldiers in the fighting line are the body, or rather part of it. Im-
pressions from the outer world (where the enemy resides) reach the
brain through the organs of sense. In an army the flash spotters
and airplane observers are the eyes, the sound rangers, the ears, the
observers in the front line are like antennae or fingers, the army
service corps is the stomach and legs, the corps of signalers the nerves.
Signals reach the intelligence department which, like the neopallium,
coordinates the impressions received, and, itself a part of the brain,
13 Seeley, Sir J. R., Introduction to Political Science, p. 89, London, 1896.
14 King, L. W., A History of Sumer and Akkad, pp. 84, 85, London, 1916.
HISTORICAL CYCLES—CRAWFORD 455
transmits them to that other part of itself which directs action, the
department of operations. Thus informed, the will, the commander
in chief, issues orders which travel along a hundred nerves, each to its
destination, and at zero point the army moves forward.
In its normal everyday life a community might act in a similar
way, if there should be a centralized control and a well-developed
group consciousness. Some nations and city states have thus acted at
their maturity, when the civic body is still young and healthy and its
reactions quick and senses keen. It can only do so even then when it
has a sovereign capable of directing its actions, and history shows that
this combination does not often occur.
It is plain that some modern nations have reached, in their re-
capitulation, an already advanced stage. It would need a biologist’s
knowledge to give precision, however, to the analogy at this point,
and this unfortunately we do not possess. Perhaps modern European
states are passing through the stage of vertebrate or even mammalian
life.* Perhaps, however, they are merely having a reptilian night-
mare on the road to mutual extermination, and the torch may be
picked up later on by some now obscure racial group on the confines
of western civilization. In favor of the first suggestion is the fact
that modern states have a brain; in favor of the second that it isa small
and poor one and only used in extremities. Whichever equation we
adopt, this advance from multicell to vertebrate (whether reptile or
mammal) is of far shorter duration than that from a single cell to a
many-celled organism; and the corresponding advance from city state
to modern nation is proportionately shorter, as it should be. May
we not conclude then, that there is a good case for regarding social
evolution as a recapitulation of organic evolution ?
Before passing on to the next point it should be noted that in social
as in biological evolution there is a main line or stem, with branches.
Some organisms have branched off and have either become extinct or
have remained down to the present day in their primitive state, living
on side by side with their more advanced cousins. Some advance to
a point and remain there, or go backwards. These branchings off
occur at every stage. Paleolithic hunters are now extinct,!® but
neolithic collectors survive in the Australian aborigines, and else-
where; just as primitive forms of life abound in every pond.
It has already been seen that, according to our theory, the phase or
life history (in Petrie’s sense) of a society is equivalent to a species,
% Sir Arthur Keith, however (1924, p. 9) considers that ‘‘ the highest stage which has
been yet reached by man in the evolution of human societies has hardly passed beyond
Nature’s lowest stage—that represented by sponges.’’ We have no room here to argue
the point, which moreover is not relevant to our main thesis.
16 Unless the Esquimaux be taken to represent them; but the Esquimaux are not
solitary hunters.
456 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
whose evolution it recapitulates; and that both evolve in the same
kind of way, from simple to complex. In both, too, the most impor-
tant fresh starts originate not from the most advanced members but
from those which have not sacrificed their primitive plasticity to
premature and excessive specialization. It was the Nordic bar-
barians on the fringe of the Roman world who initiated the modern
phase; they were in touch with Roman civilization but not part of it.
The classical phase was started by barbarians from central Europe,
in touch with the Algean world but not of it. The last great ad-
vance in evolution was made by an insignificant little creature whose
very existence was probably unknown to the reptilian overlords it
eventually superseded.1*
Looking at the process as a whole it would seem that life evolves
in a spiral. It begins with a single cell. After countless ages of
complex development an organism is evolved which becomes in its
turn the unit of another cycle. We are back where we started, but
on a higher plane. The human being becomes the unit of organized
society, and this, we must suppose, will evolve till it, too, in turn
becomes the single complex unit or individual of yet another cycle.
Clearly this process foreshadows the ultimate achievement of a single
world state, in which the whole human race shall be organized as a
single social organism. This need not necessarily imply that every
existing race and society will be at once incorporated in the world
state. When the last new start was made with the formation of
human society, other forms of life, represented by other species of
animals and plants, were not all caught up into the new organism,
but only such as were of use to it and which could find a place in it,
and those but gradually. Domestic animals and, later, plants—
dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs: Corn, palms, olives,
vines—were adopted and are still an essential element in human
society; they therefore survive. Those animals which do not,
or which are definitely antagonistic to it, having refused to become
incorporated, tend to become extinct. There were many more spe-
cies in paleolithic and even in neolithic times than there are to-day,
and the extinction of the larger fauna is now proceeding with great
rapidity.
We may therefore expect that those human societies and races
which can not be assimilated by the world state will eventually
die out.
This world state is also foreshadowed by the international char-
acter of science. The growth of the conception of a pool of world
knowledge would be interesting to trace. ‘There is now coming into
Smith, Prof. G@. Elliot, presidential address, section H, British Assoc. Ady. Sci.
(Dundee). Report, pp. 575-598, 1912.
HISTORICAL CYCLES—-CRAWFORD 457
existence a body of knowledge, collected by workers in this universal
intelligence department, for the use of future directors of operations.
Unfortunately (as we think) thought has outstripped the means of
action. The existing forms of political organization, though already
out of date, make use of this knowledge not for the general good but
for lower and more immediate ends, including that of mutual exter-
mination. Still more unfortunately they are aided and abetted in
this task by men of science themselves who should know better.
Perhaps, however, the new phase can only arise from the chaos of
the old one when it crashes; so that the sooner this happens, the
sooner the next phase will begin.
If this new cycle of evolution is to return spirally like the rest to
a point immediately above its starting point, the world state will be
equivalent to the human being in organic evolution; just as the pres-
ent states were equivalent to some earlier animal. This must follow
logically from the recapitulatory process now in progress, and may
even be forecasted as its inevitable goal. The work of integration
and reintegration of “ individuals ” persists and follows recognizable
“laws.” What the cell is to the human body, the human body is to
the world state. What is to be the next integration, in which the
world state will be merely the single unit, cell, or, as Prof. Julian
Huxley would call it, “third grade individual”? Is there going to
be another? If there is it can hardly be of this world alone, since
the whole world will be its body.
Can we extend the analogy backwards and detect the unit which is
to the cell what the cell is to the human body?
We can at least see that, if the analogy here sketched is sound,
the evolution of life proceeds upon an orderly plan, intelligible and
possibly predictable. We see that the very large is explicable in
terms of the very small, just as in physics. In the probability
waves which determine the emergence of certain features of civi-
lized life, we catch an elusive, perhaps delusive, yet fascinating
glimpse of behavior which seems to resemble the behavior of the
constituent ultimate elements of matter. Sometimes we think we
can see some meaning in the dance of shadows upon the wall of the
cave; and then we lose it again. Was it really there? Or was it
only our own shadows that we saw?
NOTE I
No attempt has been made in the above article either to anticipate
objections to the theory propounded in it, or to deal with criticisms
which have been made about the cyclical view of history. It seemed
better to set down the writer’s own ideas as clearly and as briefly as
possible. Any other course would confuse the issue and expand the
458 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
account to an impossible size. For similar reasons little reference
has been made to previous writers, though acknowledgments have
been made whenever the parentage of an idea or a statement was
known. In addition to the books or articles already referred to the
following may be quoted:
Social Adaptation: A Study in the Development of the Doctrine of Adapta-
tion as a Theory of Social Progress, by Lucius Moody Bristol. Harvard
Economic Studies, vol. 14. Harvard University Press [Milford, London], 1915.
Warfare in the Human Body: Essays on Method, Malignity, Repair, and
Allied Subjects, by Morley Roberts. Eveleigh Nash, London [1920].
Does Man’s Body Represent a Commonwealth? by Sir Arthur Keith. The
R. P. A. Annual, 1924, pp. 2-12.
Concerning Man’s Origin, by Prof. Sir Arthur Keith. Watts, London, 1927.
The Theory of Historical Cycles, by R. G. Collingwood. I. Oswald Spengler.
Antiquity, vol. 1, pp. 811-325, 1927. II. Cycles and Progress, ibid., pp. 485-446.
Note of criticism on the above, by Sir Flinders Petrie, published in Antiquity,
1928, vol. 2, pp. 207-208.
The Ascent of Humanity: An Essay on the Hyolution of Civilization, by
Gerald Heard. Jonathan Cape, London, 1929. Reviewed in Antiquity, 1930,
vol. 4, pp. 5-11.
The above list does not claim to be in any sense a bibliography or
even a complete list of “ books and articles consulted.” Some of
these, and among them some of the most important, have been quoted
already in the footnotes. Some account of the principal philoso-
phers who have dealt with the subject will be found in the books
quoted, particularly in the first mentioned (Mr. Bristol’s).
NOTE II
The early stages of integration are naturally the most difficult to
observe, partly because in them it is very difficult to say whether the
unit is the evolving group or the individual forming part of it; and
partly because historically the hypothetical nomadic precursors have
vanished leaving but the scantiest traces of their existence. Their
very mode of life insures this. Precisely the same difficulty is en-
countered in biology.
Which are the individuals of the colonial polyp Obelia—the polyps at the end
of the branches or the colony as a whole? If separateness be the criterion the
colony is the individual; but what then of the medusae, for a time part of the
colony, then budded off to lead an independent existence? A single worker
ant is separate and distinct enough; but it is not independent, and has no more
biological meaning apart from the ant community than has a human finger
amputated from the body.
The writer decides that
An individual is not a stable thing in itself, but rather a history, a series of
events tied together and unified in a particular way.
HISTORICAL CYCLES—-CRAWFORD 459
In other words, individuality can only exist in four dimensions.
It is a method of acting and becoming; it is never identical with itself for two
consecutive moments of its career. When we take it at any given moment and
examine it, it possesses * * * a certain degree of unity in its construction, a
unity in space. When we look at it as a history, we find that it has a certain
unity in time. The different events of its history cooperate to insure its own
continuance or the continuance of new systems like itself.*
This description applies admirably to any one of Petrie’s phases,
or to any of its component units. The thread of unity here is pro-
vided by tradition, the outcome of speech and writing. (The writer’s
debt to this article of Professor Huxley’s will be obvious, and he
wishes gratefully to acknowledge it.)
NOTE III
[Added January, 1933]
In correcting the proofs of my 1931 article I have made only one
alteration of meaning, and that a minor verbal one. It seemed better
to leave it exactly as it stands, for it exactly expressed my views at
the time it was written. I would not express myself in the same
way if I were to write an account of Historical Cycles to-day, for I
should write from the point of view of a Marxist. I believe that one
of the most immediate tasks for students of the history of material
human culture is to discover the material cause of historical cycles;
for their existence can not be called in question. Before this can
be done, however, a world history must be “ written from the stand-
point of dialectical materialism, which alone can make the dynamics
of history comprehensible ” (John Strachey in The Coming Struggle
for Power, p. 189, Gollancz, 1932).
8 Huxley, Julian, What is Individuality? The Realist, vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 109-121, April,
1929:
F SF i a, te
teehee on
‘oved tok ere fr f at uit 4 rae -
(ike Habinkae iyi Yh ik gh of |
By as eoere Maushie AL Luep iyi Ral ‘to Wuniat
\) - (estakyie end dana (iow Seretaht’ ri ait ab in
uy we Bh sur a be Ee “peuyiat Peewee
1 y
agit } aati
# ’
mb
a
, suendst soit ko: penis ALAN deriguh |
| Mvnefrab- ora spent Dreul od ati aa peony ads
ABSENT)? Sate br brett oe ree + i08)
. ai ‘baw mo ilo, oS ‘Hig, © "aly Pk. ;
nd Orivny Gj (te gubole
‘ She :
i ' a) hy DE ss) theb ‘altura 3), Sa
itsoum, tye, SER PROG poe Piha sisk fi
mat ies ehh neater Fi aii bw POA, hes ‘
ono ‘hao stnmcty Saath J oloipra, pRrRLaoalis
» > “eauttotl borkéoneh Ohendibadtiae emia
“Se oafaiy Yew Jageotqus yltoexe Jt 108: haces ef iso
Geib) ct? Dreyer eeruigtoudon ak sitois
ev hirot. galybt. slag Givkiodabit Lecdegads:
Leno dnd} owiilod: Eotkixgeliate arene dode fle
Hebtinn Yow otddbeds heeheg eek. sy |
rie igen Eo Lan eiestssst: to 9elige damit! aps tgrdne BQ
_ tanto eink, sre%akhy sO Lepr atm heltieoed.
Gisumshare recent pO oF ih qe Ciotaid
gia on, ‘ti nestor iG-nilae) e idiges
ve, echo: U cate tier Sy 0 PR tet tna
oe “TRIE ie Bl rer ?
mcs ir, aM t eS Me ca
iat wit at tad
at Sal a Li peers
That Ane oe wv yeh Gin x “irautt triaewi wor rk afhis
. lant =
Tae dh ah, ee Liege 4 eves pea tid, caine “ey
“Te ae bi alive
7 ih tage :
wie! itis vin guciys while pelgeeae
ff , oblh?, 2) apie eae ie ‘Ne writ tin
WA 7 " Ma : Pee t c Tie ra a, PALE, [ef é& Z an pes mt
ites be di if 2 7 na iiunee Gen) raeeioey 4 scent
1"; ( Ki Hiihee ¢ 4a Jot lh, forges) Gide peiraerst, and rt
- ve erten sare Toy ib ai Gertie “wba me, y brea
; fosity MA in |
- 7 =
} } ela Meee ' : > are
onl ae
with. bercan ye wih iy Dee & Ot eeae a) a ea Ne Sele DESO te eben ge wll
ty oe Vert ee) tne fi) iia sa" v aa
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Crawford
Photograph by Anderson, Rome
BRONZE DOOR OF CHURCH
OF SAN ZENO, VERONA
ARCHAIC DESIGN
(1139),
AN EXAMPLE OF
AYNLdINOS AYNLVW AO AIdWVXYA NV ‘2G71 GALAIMWOD ‘AONSYOT14 LV YOO AZNONG SAO TANVd
weulyy Aq yd
120 i i ARE Rael ERE
ec 3LV 1d plojmeiy—*7 EH] “WOday ueiuosyzwg
THE “GREAT WALL OF PERU” AND OTHER AERIAL
PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIES BY THE SHIPPEE-JOHN-
SON PERUVIAN EXPEDITION?
By RosertT SHIPPEE
[With 10 plates]
The appearance of “ Peru from the Air,” * was followed by many
requests for a continuation of the studies contained therein. In no
field have the rewards of aerial survey been greater than in arche-
ology, and the demand has been increasing for “ more maps and more
air photographs,” as Crawford has phrased it. To meet this demand
and the demands of geography were two of the chief objectives of the
Shippee-Johnson Peruvian expedition of 1931. The expedition
planned to record the most important ancient sites of Peru by
oblique and vertical photographs and mosaic maps. We had little
expectation of making really new discoveries in a country where
exploration has already revealed so much. We were quite unpre-
pared for the “Great Wall,” as it has been popularly termed.
THE GREAT WALL
While we were still operating from the base that we had estab-
lished at Trujillo for the mapping of the well-known ruins of Chan-
Chan, we made a flight with the photographic plane inland as far as
the Maranon River and, on the return, circled southward around
Mount Huascaran and then followed the valley of the Santa River
to the coast. Our course was over the edge of the foothills bordering
the narrow upper valley of the river on the north, Johnson, co-
leader and photographer of the expedition, watching for photo-
graphic subjects, noticed what appeared to be a wall flowing up and
down over the ridges beneath the plane, wondered for a moment as
to the purpose of such a structure, decided that it was worth record-
1Copyright, 1932, by the Anrerican Geographical Society of New York. Reprinted by
permission from the Geographical Review, vol. 22, No. 1, January, 1932. The 29 jllus-
trations which originally accompanied this article have here been reduced to 20, appearing
as 10 plates.
2 Johnson, George R., and Platt, Raye R., Peru from the Air, Amer. Geogr. Soc. Special
Publ. No. 12, New York, 1930.
461
462 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
ing, and made a number of photographs of it. We hoped to be able
to return later to make a more complete record of the wall but were
not certain that we should have time to do so. The photographs,
printed a few weeks later in our Lima laboratory, led to so much
discussion, however, that just before our departure we arranged to
Pongo de Manseriche
Rig \ Marae
owe yyobamba
\c hachapoyas
x bd
\
x d \ yy
C i dre 2
to Ma re)
PERU
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHIC FLIGHTS
‘SHIPPEE JOHNSON
PERUVIAN EXPEDITION
1931
scentnenateansess wesces” FINSALS
100 200 MILES
190 200 KILOMETERS
THE GEOGR.REVIEW, JAN., 1932 76
FIGURE 1
make a special trip to relocate and examine the wall from both the
air and the ground.
Johnson and IJ, with our Peruvian observer, Captain Ceballos, flew
to Chimbote in the photographic ship and established a temporary
base there. Chimbote lies on one of the largest bays of the Peruvian
coast, a few miles south of the Santa Valley, of which it is now the
principal port. The little town in the lee of three tall, barren sand
GREAT WALL OF PERU—SHIPPER 463
hills can boast of two things only—a natural harbor that would make
the most ideal naval, aviation, or submarine base imaginable and a
level, hard landing field that is used by the Peruvian commercial air
lines.
The natives of Chimbote assured us that they knew about the wall,
that they had heard of it from their ancestors, and that it was pre-
Incaic. They could tell nothing, however, of its purpose or its his-
tory and, indeed, gave little real evidence that they had ever even
heard of it.
From Chimbote the flight to the mouth of the Santa River was a
matter of a few minutes only. Turning inland from there we picked
up the wall about 5 or 6 miles from the coast at the ruins of a small
village. At that end the wall divides into two sections for a short
distance as shown in Plate 1, Figure 1. It may have once extended
to the shore line; but, if it did, it has been broken down, and the
stones have either been removed for other building purposes or
covered by the drifting sand.
From the ruined village, itself all but lost under the sand, the wall
leads away up the north side of the river, first across the level, sandy
plain of the river delta and then, as the valley narrows, over the
edge of the foothills bordering the valley. As the foothill ridges
become sharper and steeper, the wall rises and dips and in places is
turned slightly from its generally straight course. Its distance from
the river is In general about a mile and a half, although in one place
at least it dips down close to the edge of the river bed. In places it
blends so well with the background as to be almost indistinguishable.
It was impossible to make an accurate check on the distance we
followed the wall, for the air was so unusually rough that, as we
approached the Andes, we had to circle and climb for more and more
altitude; but we followed it for at least 40 miles and possibly more.
Then we lost it. We had already passed over several short breaks,
but this time we failed to pick it up again. The light, which was
poor when we started—for the flight was made in August, a winter
month, when the coastal valleys are nearly always overcast and often
filled solid with fog—was getting rapidly worse; so we headed back
for Chimbote, taking only a few minutes out to get more close-ups of
the forts on both sides of the wall.
It so happened that none of our first photographs showed any of
these forts. But, on this second flight we noticed at irregular inter-
vals on both sides of the wall, but at short distances from it, a series
of small forts—some circular and some rectangular—most of which
were more or less inset in the top of small hills so as to be quite in-
visible from the valley floor. Those on the south side, and they were
the larger, were located in the hills on the south side of the Santa
464 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
River opposite the wall. We believe that we located and photo-
graphed all of these forts—a total of 14. The largest one appeared
to be about 300 feet by 200 feet, with walls about 15 feet high and
perhaps 5 feet thick, and was of piled-stone construction. A few of
the others were of the same construction, but most of them appeared
to be of adobe.
At Chimbote we at once began preparation for a trip to the wall
overland. From a rough sketch made while in the air we figured that
we could reach at least the western end of the wall by automobile.
There is a bridge over the Santa near its mouth, and, once on the
other side, it would be simply a question of how far the car could
plow through the sand. The next morning we loaded our equipment
into an old Ford and started off on a trip that was to take five hours
of bumping over crude roads, slithering down muddy cow paths, and
pushing through deep sand. Steering our course by a method of
“dead reckoning” especially devised for the occasion, we at last
reached the sand-covered ruins of the little village at the end of the
wall. Jt was just by chance that we did not miss them entirely.
From the air we had been able to make out the plan of the streets
and the walls of the separate houses. From the ground we saw noth-
thing but a few sand-covered ridges.
Just beyond these ridges, which were crumbled adobe walls buried
beneath centuries of drifted sand, we saw the wall stretching away
tothe horizon. We followed along it for several miles. Then the val-
ley began to narrow and the cross ridges to dip more sharply down to it.
The Ford could go no farther. We struggled on afoot for another
mile, lugging the cameras and stopping at intervals for still and mo-
tion pictures showing construction details and the character of the
terrain on which the wall stands.
The wall, as far as we followed it, now averages about 7 feet
in height. It is built of broken rocks set together with adobe ce-
ment, and, where is has not been greatly disturbed, its outer surface
is so well chinked with small rocks that it would be practically
impossible to scale it without ladders. In occasional places, as
seen from the air, the wall must still be 20 or 30 feet high where it
crosses gullies. We found it impossible to make anything like accu-
rate measurements. The rocks that have slipped from the top with
the beating of the winds and the occasional rains spread away for
a considerable distance on either side of the wall and aid the drifted
sand in obscuring its base. We estimated that, in its original state,
it was about 12 or 15 feet thick at the base and was built to taper
upward to an average height of 12 or 15 feet.
GREAT WALL OF PERU—SHIPPEE 465
ORIGIN OF THE WALL
We were unable to come to any conclusion concerning the origin
of the wall. As Dr. A. L. Kroeber remarks, that will require careful
examination by an archeologist familiar with different types of con-
struction and able to interpret potsherds or other fragments that
may be found in association with the wall. If we had had time to
carry our ground explorations farther and to investigate the forts, we
might have found more definite indications as to its history; but we
had already spent eight and a half months in Peru instead of the
five months orginally planned.
Further exploration to determine how far the wall extends into
the Andes would be especially worth while. We estimate that when
we finally lost sight of the wall we were in the neighborhood of
Corongo. Wiener* mentions strongly fortified hills in the Corongo
region. We have, therefore, the possibility of a defensive wall
joining the fortifications of the Corongo region with those at the
mouth of the Santa River.
Clearly the wall with its double line of forts was erected as a
defensive barrier. If it is true that the fortified hilltops at Para-
monga, some 50 miles farther south, mark the southern limits of
the domain of the Great Chimt, there are many guesses that can
be made as to the origin and purpose of the wall. It may be an inter-
tribal defense that antedates the consolidation of the Chimt kingdom.
Or it may be a secondary line of defense erected by the Chimti against
the Inca invader. If the latter is the case it may explain why, as
tradition says, the Inca abandoned his invasions of the Chimt
kingdom from the south along the coast and finally conquered it by
advancing his armies through the Andes and laying direct siege to
Chan-Chan, the Chimt capital.
The suggestion has been advanced by Dr. R. L. Olson, of the
University of California, that the wall may represent one of a series
of defense structures built by the Chimti as they extended their
territory to the north and south.* While engaged in field work in
this part of Peru two years ago Doctor Olson noted « number of
walls in the Chao Valley, about 20 miles north of the Santa Valley,
mostly fragmentary and running for short distances only. He de-
scribes a larger wall cutting across the pampa between Trujillo
and Chicama that was built presumably for the defense of Chan-
Chan.
? Charles Wiener, Pérou et Bolivie, Paris, p. 177, 1880.
*¥rom a preliminary statement sent to the American Geographical Society at the in-
stance of Dr. A. L. Kroeber.
466 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Prof. Marshall H. Saville suggests that the wall may have been
erected by the Chimti or pre-Chimiti occupants of the Santa Valley to
prevent the neighboring tribes on the north, or possible invaders
from the north, from gaining access to the river where, by damming
or otherwise diverting the stream, they could cut off the water supply
from the great aqueducts, still largely in fairly good repair, that
irrigated the densely peopled Santa delta. In connection with this
suggestion may be cited Montesinos’s account that the Inca finally
conquered the Great Chimt by cutting off his water supply.> It
may have been the supply to the Santa Valley that was cut off by the
Inca, since Montesinos does not state which valley it was in which
the Chimd finally capitulated, while Garcilasso de la Vega® says
that it was the Santa Valley, although he makes no mention of the
cutting off of the water supply.
Dr. Julio C. Tello, director of the archeological museum of the
University of San Marcos and a leading authority on the Inca and
pre-Inca civilizations, states in reply to a letter addressed to him
by the American Geographical Society that not only had he never
heard of the wall until it was reported by the Shippee-Johnson expe-
dition but that he has been unable to find anyone among the owners
of the large haciendas in the Santa Valley who knows anything of it.
Doctor Tello reports that he has discovered several walls similar to
the Great Wall of the Santa Valley in valleys south of Lima, al-
though none of them is more than a few kilometers in length. He
also mentions the wall between Trujillo and Chicama described by
Doctor Olson, but offers no suggestions as to the possible purpose of
this or others of what he describes as the “mysterious walls of
Peru.”
It is still hard for us to believe that we have actually made a new
discovery of such evident importance in a region whose ruins have
been for more than 75 years the subject of frequent and careful
explorations by a long list of noted archeologists, many of whom
have made their reputations there. From the air, the wall and
its forts are so striking a feature of the landscape that it is difficult
to understand how they could have so long escaped notice from the
ground. That this is the case seems less astonishing, however, when
one considers that, even though the wall were noticed at its western
end where it crosses the delta of the Santa River, it would appear
only as one more wall in a region filled not only with the ruins of
5 Montesinos, Fernando, Memorias antiguas historiales del Peru, translated and edited
by Philip Ainsworth Means, Hakluyt Soc. Publs., ser. 2, vol. 48, p. 48, London, 1920.
®De la Vega, Garcilasso, First Part of the Royal Commentaries of the Yncas, trans-
lated and edited by Clements R. Markham, Hakluyt Soc. Publs., ser. 1, No. 45 (2 vols.),
vol. 2, pp. 196-201, London, 1871.
GREAT WALL OF PERU—SHIPPEE 467
elaborate fortifications—fortified hills and defensive walls of various
sorts—but also with the remains of cities, towns, and extensive irriga-
tion works. Only when one looks down upon the wall from the air
and thus is able to see long sections of it can one realize that it is a
feature quite distinct from the short sections of wall characteristic of
the Santa delta. This broad view presented to observer and camera
is what makes the airplane so important an instrument in modern
exploration. The aerial observer is afforded, and the aerial camera
records frequently in a single exposure, a synthesis of details whose
relationships might otherwise never be discovered.
SURVEYS OF CHAN-CHAN AND PACHACAMAC
The base at Trujillo from which we made our first flight over the
Great Wall had been established for the purpose of making a mosaic
map of the ruins of Chan-Chan, the capital of the kingdom of the
Great Chimti whom the Incas conquered shortly before the Spanish
conquest. The ruins have recently been described by Maj. Otto
Holstein in an article in the Geographical Review. He particularly
called attention to the disastrous effect of the rains of 1925 and urged
that systematic study of the site be made without delay.’ Johnson
had had it in mind for some time to make an accurate record of these
ruins, based on a good triangulation, before another rainy year like
that of 1925 had completed their destruction.
The ruins occupy an area of about 11 square miles. From a base
line of 8,600 feet two of us with a detail of soldiers lent us by the
Trujillo garrison triangulated the entire area and laid white lime
markers. It was difficult to work with any speed and still obtain the
degree of accuracy for which we were striving, for the high adobe
walls and the rounded bulks of the huacas so interfered with the
sights that we had to choose all points with great care. Three anda
half days were required for the completion of the triangulation.
On the other hand, in 40 minutes from the time the plane took off
for the aerial survey the wheels again touched ground with the sur-
vey completed. Furthermore, when we came to the assembling
of the mosaic, we found that the only corrections our photographs
needed were those required to offset the slight variations in the alti-
tude of the plane while the photographs were being made—variations
due to the airplane rising or settling in updrafts and downdrafts.
In nine cases out of ten the accuracy of an aerial survey of such a
small area made in a country as flat as the site of Chan-Chan would
be sufficient without ground control.
7 Holstein, Otto, Chan-Chan: Capital of the Great Chimfi, Geogr. Rev., voi. 17, pp.
36-61, 1927.
149571—33——31
468 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
The second of the surveys of archeological sites which our original
plans called for was that of the ruins of Pachacamac, a few minutes’
ride from Lima by automobile. Because they are near Lima these
ruins are perhaps better known to tourists than any others in the
coastal region of Peru. They are the remains of the pre-Inca temple
of the Creator-God Pachacamac and the Inca temple of the Sun
and the two villages built in connection with them, one of which was
used by the permanent residents of the place and the other by pil-
erims who are believed to have assembled at this shrine from all
parts of the empire.
Flying at an altitude of 10,000 feet we mapped the ruins in a few
minutes. Then, going in by automobiles, we made numerous still
and motion pictures from the ground.
WORK IN THE CUZCO REGION
While we were making preliminary reconnaissance of the Colca
Valley, word came that a landing field had been prepared for us at
Cuzco. We decided that the work there had best be undertaken at
once before the rainy season set in in the sierra.
On the flight to Cuzco we had our only serious mishap. We took
off from Arequipa on May 21. En route the two planes became
separated. I landed my ship, the Zima, at the Cuzco field located at
Anta, a few miles from the city, on schedule; but the photographic
ship, the Washington, did not show up on time, and a 3-hour recon-
naissance flight back to the point where we separated failed to locate
her. At midnight, however, word came through from the Anda-
huaylas telegraph post that the missing ship had been landed on the
Huancabamba pampa about 90 miles west of Cuzco, and that,
although the crew was unhurt, a wing tip had been damaged.
The following morning we flew the Zima from Cuzco to Anda-
huaylas, taking extra gas and repair materials. After an enforced
night on the pampa with a temperature but a few degrees above zero
we finally got both planes back to the Anta field. The damaged wing
was changed to the Lima so that the photographic ship might con-
tinue its work with two good wings. Then we attempted to take off
the Lima for a return flight to our home base where the wing could
be rebuilt. Unfortunately the field proved too small for the crippled
ship, which was so badly damaged at the take-off that we found it
inadvisable to attempt to repair it in Peru.
Our work went on with the Washington, now forced to do all the
flying. Photographs were made from the air of various archeological
sites in the Cuzco region, among them Machu Picchu. These ruins
in the Urubamba Valley, “ two days’ hard journey ” on the ground or
45 minutes by air from Cuzco, have been made known to the world
GREAT WALL OF PERU—SHIPPEE 469
by the labors of Dr. Hiram Bingham. The site 1s magnificent—
above “a stupendous canyon whose rim is more than a mile above the
river * * * whose precipices are frequently a thousand feet
sheer.”® An incomparable view of the Inca citadel is obtained from
the air (pl. 7, fig. 2, and pl. 8, fig. 1).
Another day was spent in photographing Fort Sacsahuaman on
the heights above Cuzco, but perhaps the most interesting of our
aerial photographs in this region are those of the group of amphi-
theaters that we came upon in the Maras Pampa about 15 miles
northwest of Cuzco (pl. 9, fig. 1). The priests in a church in Cuzco
knew of their existence and said they had been used by the Incas
for religious presentations during their fiestas. We have, however,
not been able to find any mention of them in the literature on the
region.
SURVEY OF THE TALARA OIL FIELDS
Our aerial survey of the holdings of the International Petroleum
Co. at Talara, northern Peru, was made in February. It seemed
to us that the flat, desert country of the Talara fields would be easy
to map from the air. Certainly little correction would be nec-
essary in assembling a mosaic from the photographs. Several
problems cropped up, however, when the work began: How best to
cover the area with ground control; how best to give some relief to
the mosaic, to make depressions look like depressions, and oil rigs
stand out as other than mere dots on the sand. Clouds also hindered
us, since to cover the extensive area economically we had to fly at
15,000 feet, and even on the arid Peruvian coast there are few really
cloudless days.
For ground control, in addition to white lime markers at al! our
triangulation points, we made use of a system developed by Johnson
several years ago in which a network of oblique sheets is used to tie
in various landmarks so that in making the mosaic for the vertical
photographs each point can be definitely aligned. By flying late in
the afternoon and for short periods only we-utilized the shadows cast
by the oil rigs and thus obtained a remarkably realistic picture of the
fields.
The Talara engineers, because of previous experience with a care-
less job of aerial mapping, were frankly skeptical of the accuracy of
our work. On checking the first test layouts of the points against
their own maps, one section was declared to be inaccurate. A transit
crew was put at work to check that particular area, and our hastily
assembled map was proved accurate within a few inches.
8 Bingham, Hiram, Manchu Picchu: A citadel of the Incas, New Haven, p. 39, 1930.
470 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
FLIGHT TO HUANCAYO
We had hoped to be able to get into the lowlands beyond the
Andes to make a test of aerial survey methods in heavily forested
country; but the delays incident to political disturbances following
the overthrow of the Leguia government prevented us from so doing.
We did, however, make two trips to Huancayo in the upper Jauja
Valley—one by rail to get the lay of the land and one by air imme-
diately after the completion of the work at Pachacamac. On our trip
to Huancayo by rail we were fortunate enough to locate a good land-
ing field—a strip of road, fairly smooth and sufficiently long to assure
safety in landing a ship at 11,000 feet altitude. It was near the Car-
negie Terrestrial Magnetism Observatory, where we were also as-
sured by Mr. Ledig, chief of the observatory, of comfortable quarters
and the use of a dark room.
Heavy clouds rendered futile the first three attempts to get through
to Huancayo by air. On the fourth attempt, however, on April 21,
we were successful. It was our first experience in high altitude
landing; later we were to make landings at still higher altitudes, but
as a first attempt Huancayo will always be remembered. In landing
at such heights the speed of the plane is nearly doubled. That is,
instead of the wheels touching the ground at 40 or 50 miles an hour
they touch at a speed of nearly 100. In the thin air one has to be
careful with the controls. The plane will stall with no warning, and
sharp turns are dangerous unless the speed is kept well above the
minimum.
On account of bad weather conditions we were delayed at Huan-
cayo for eight days. The wait for good weather was well worth
while, however. The oblique photographs of the glaciers of that re-
gion stand out as the best of our entire photographic collection. It
would be impossible to obtain such pictures from the ground.
WORK IN THE AREQUIPA REGION
Tor the work in the south we were able to use the Akeley motion-
picture camera which we had hitherto not been permitted to operate;
and Mr. W. O. Runcie, an expert motion-picture man of long ex-
perience in Peru, was engaged to help with the photography. On
May 4 both ships lifted their heavy loads from Faucetts Field at
Lima and 5 hours later landed safely at Arequipa, 7,500 feet above
sea level. For the next week we flew steadily, most of the time with
the aid of oxygen. Motion pictures and stills were made of El
Misti, Ubinas, the Nudo de Ampato, and the high snow caps of
Coropuna. Staying aloft for periods of 4 and 5 hours, the planes
climbed as high as 24,000 feet, circled over, around, and actually in-
side of the craters of El Misti (pl. 10, fig. 2) and Ubinas, and landed
GREAT WALL OF PERU—-SHIPPEE A471
on the high pampa, so-called, back of the coast range between Are-
quipa and Mollendo for a brief examination of the famous La Joya
crescentic sand dunes (pl. 8, fig. 2)—dunes that move an average of
60 feet a year and cover the pampas as far south as Tacna.
We also made a preliminary examination from the air of the Colca
Valley, some 70 miles north of Arequipa, where 14 “lost” villages
nestle on the floor of a steep gorge. Apparently they had long since
been all but forgotten until Johnson photographed them on a flight
made in 1929 when he was chief photographer of the Peruvian Naval
Air Force.
In fact, a desire to revisit and study this valley was our first pur-
pose in organizing the expedition. After our return from Cuzco
a land party spent six weeks in the valley, a landing field was con-
structed, and the whole upper valley was surveyed from the air.
The work in the Colca Valley with that in the near-by Andagua
Valley, where some 40 small volcanoes, apparently hitherto unknown,
were located and phctographed, will be related in another article
in the Geographical Review.
STATIC TESTS
A brief account of our difficulties with static may be of use to
others doing photographic work under similar conditions. We found
on returning to our Lima laboratory after our work in the north that
a good many of the photographs taken at high altitudes were spoiled
by static. Streaks and lines crossed and recrossed many of the
negatives so as to make them valueless. This is an unsolved problem
of aerial photography. Static electricity is obviously the cause, but
the exact explanation of its presence and a remedy for its effect are
still being sought by photographic experts. It occurs most fre-
quently at high altitudes in rarefied air where static conditions reach
amaximum. ‘The static reaches the inside of the aerial camera or is
generated there—as by the rapid unrolling of the films—and the
electrical sparks and flashes leave their image on the negative.
Experiments in eliminating this phenomenon have been made in
the United States, in Canada, and in Europe, not only in commercial
organizations but also by Government research laboratories. Prog-
ress in this experimentation is greatly retarded by the fact that
static conditions can not be accurately reproduced in the laboratory
but must be encountered in the air. On some flights roll after roll
of aerial film may be exposed with no trace of static. Then on the
very next flight dozens of photographs will show its effect.
Although we failed to eliminate the static, we did learn enough
about the conditions under which it was most prevalent to cut down
materially the number of wasted exposures. Equipped with oxygen
472 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
for pilot and photographer we made test flights at altitudes up to
24,000 feet above the sea. In the Fairchild aerial camera, Johnson
installed insulating devices, grounding connections, moisture pads,
and a dozen or more similar gadgets until the interior of the camera
would hold no more.
From those experiments we came to certain conclusions that seemed
to be quite definitely established. We got no static effects in photo-
graphs made at altitudes up to 14,000 feet provided that the expos-
ures were made on the way up and not on the descent. For some un-
known reason there was very little static in vertical photographs,
although the reason may be because in the vertical photography the
camera was mounted in the ship and not exposed to the outside air
as directly as when it was held by hand out of the window in the
making of obliques. Whether the sky was clear or overcast seemed
to make little difference. Rewinding the film as slowly as possible
helped to a slight degree. And, finally, even when the entire roll of
110 photographs was exposed at extreme altitudes the first 50 ex-
posures were generally free from static. The last two experiments
are to us the most significant. It seems logical to conclude from them
that the speed with which the film is unrolled from the spool to
some extent regulates the generation of static; for, as the end of
the roll is reached the spool turns faster and faster as the film is
pulled away from a core of steadily decreasing circumference. It
is our belief that if the film were cut to 50 exposures and rolled on a
thicker spool, the occurrence of static would be greatly reduced.
All our lower shots were made on the way up not only as a result
of these experiments but also because we found that in coming down
from high altitudes the lens of the camera became so coated with
moisture that it was impossible to get clear exposures, as no amount
of wiping would clear it.
SUMMARY
The Shippee-Johnson Peruvian Expedition, with Lieut. George R.
Johnson and myself as coleaders, Irving Hay as pilot, Valentine Van
Keuren as civil engineer, and Max Distel as mechanic, was organized
to carry out a number of projects of aerial photography and survey-
ing conceived by Johnson during his service with the Peruvian Naval
Air Service.
The work of the expedition except for that done among the people
of the Colca Valley and based on a questionnaire prepared at the
American Geographical Society was almost exclusively photographic.
Our equipment was two Bellanca cabin monoplanes, one of which was
especially equipped for photographic work of all kinds, and a full
complement of aerial cameras and motion-picture machines of the
|
|
GREAT WALL OF PERU—SHIPPEE 473
latest type. Our records are not in written words but in the photo-
graphs we have brought back.
The Washington was in the air 351 hours, the Lima 1031 hours;
40 hours were flown above 17,000 feet with the use of oxygen. ‘The
highest altitude attained, just east of Lima, May 1, was 24,700 feet;
the temperature at this altitude was 4° F. (60° F. at 8,000 feet).
Complete aerial surveys were made at Talara at an altitude of
15,000 feet; of Chan-Chan at 8,000 and 4,000 feet; of Pachacamac at
2,000 and 10,000 feet; of the Colca Valley at 21,000 feet; and of the
Andagua Valley at 20,000 feet. The oblique and vertical aerial pho-
tographs totaled 3,000; ground photographs, 1,000; motion pictures,
25,000 feet of standard 35 millimeters, 5,000 feet of 16 millimeters.
thither eponl; thé sceurrenon of aiitly world be, enensitan
eh bee 9 Cc Pylesh'y mahicwny , Pe saeaiee te ond ou evgreliids ane
“ai thew. cxnerininta lat olst haces oe, Toone: tint ip
ho ial gaatin angles ‘hag
Peaaieraceriat casino
+ eel, Rondon p ah WOR day pall Wise
nivlep (ania gs lokiiawbanonpido atk x,
Bei Soitonte: Hidkeh voliqdwmningey t
canadtied atid Li cod dhol tes B00 Lerabedth us a
bloody as whe. it ue hold by bend opt ‘She eek
Hakines of ore Bigiias, | Whos tethe sky wie da Or OFERTAS =
ta ake dis ditlerence. “Rewiring Hab Glen sy clowly du ae
= Hod ta a slight dewruge Avek tonne, oie whies ke ‘polka
ably: BGA, rayplis he Meise bc} sestrerne altiiseins Sins
pose Wite amenity Gite Pro tibioy ie diane oe
—)
Real
chant iG Bpyen my wilvielf Phee Ginn ie veohne Satin) tne pool’ Me.
woke ‘ate Rewwinges tho arti lad ape t iae, Gees eed
Ome reil d® regdhed: Wie ion fii eater elebil Gaston as in| sa on |
milo’ aqvag: freeware of ebenda ls Asireening: CHC MR AER eye
aa re irolint that the fin genre Gus pepe. veRIOR.R,.,
id ony owe mote wees rindi: coe the way GD Ok only ;
= Et PA’ th ‘itn the: wre of the eaves poratiae 40 . fonts
mite Thad ali wee ERR see tee get oleas x POSED Ae mn
of wiping wopld cleae it
. 7 -
EDMMARY 02 ty Sn
1 en P om Fe 1 2s il Se ithe faut! Goma ete >
Swecyherdd Vale Pee WA on lomieas, sevriy ainy 23 Bikes, Vutentif a oe -
MAP) Wis ew CI er ntied 1 Suan a Laz peraent Ose, ene el be
Paes ON 8 teiitibeer of pala bet eee phomunnpliy Pe
ie Che errant, Woy Choe) Aarne ne J perv ine WI Ale Paray
Aor Paras
aS
OF sie ieee V Valles ed ed ms : ges iar PS
er eynieunrii wre t en ne bem lik i ste
sie nf 5 Pi ioe ar at oe Wee, we
Smithsonian Report, | 332.—Shippee PLATE 1
1. AN AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF THE WEST END OF THE GREAT WALL WITH
THE OCEAN IN THE BACKGROUND
There is a great confusion of walls throughout the delta of the Santa River. The photograph shows
several in addition to the Great Wall itself, one of which parallels it for a considerable distance and
then turns sharply to join it. At the seaward end of the more clearly defined sections of these two
parallel walls can be seen the faint outlines of the ruined village mentioned in the text. The road
at the right of the photograph is maintained by the Peruvian Government in connection with a small
salt-evaporating works located a few miles inland.
2. A SECTION OF THE WALL A SHORT DISTANCE UP THE VALLEY FROM FIGURE
1 (ABOVE)
Here a secondary wall branches off from the main wall. On the hill in the foreground is one of the
terrace fortresses of which many examples are to be found on the coastal hills that border the Santa
Delta. The two roads—one in the immediate foreground and the other between the wall and the for-
tified hill—appear well traveled, but it should be remembered that on the rainless Peruvian coast the
tracks of wheeled vehicles may remain clearly visible for years.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Shippee PLATE 2
1. A SECTION OF THE GREAT WALL CUTTING ACROSS THE DRY BED OF A TRIB-
UTARY OF THE SANTA RIVER A SHORT DISTANCE FROM THE COAST
2. THE GREAT WALL HERE CROSSES AND RECROSSES THE DRY BED OF A
TRIBUTARY OF THE SANTA RIVER
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Shippee PLATE 3
| 1. A SECTION OF THE GREAT WALL BUILT ON THE CREST OF ONE OF THE LONG
| SPURS OF THE ANDES THAT BORDER THE SANTA VALLEY ON THE NORTH
2. ONE OF THE SQUARE ADOBE FORTRESSES THAT GUARD THE WALL ON THE
SOUTH SIDE OF THE SANTA RIVER
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Shippee PLATE 4
1. THIS PHOTOGRAPH HAS CAUGHT TWO OF THE HILLTOP FORTRESSES THAT
GUARD THE SOUTH BANK OF THE SANTA RIVER
Both are of the adobe structure characteristic of most of the forts on both sides of the river.
2. A SECTION OF THE WALL NEAR ITS WESTERN END WHERE IT CROSSES THE
DELTA OF THE SANTA RIVER
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Shippee PLATE 5
1. A SECTION OF THE WALL NEAR ITS WESTERN END SHOWING THE CHARACTER
OF THE CONSTRUCTION
2. RUINS OF A TEMPLE IN THE CHICAMA VALLEY WITH A SECTION OF THE
WALLED ROAD SAID TO HAVE BEEN BUILT ALONG THE COAST BY THE INCAS
AS A PART OF THEIR SYSTEM OF HIGHWAY CONNECTIONS BETWEEN CUZCO
AND QUITO
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Shippee
PLATE 6
1. A SECTION OF ONE OF THE VERTICAL PHOTOGRAPHS MADE IN THE AERIAL
SURVEY OF CHAN-CHAN
The scale of the photograph is about 1: 15,000.
2. VIEW FROM THE NORTH OF THE RUINS OF PACHACAMAC IN THE LURIN
VALLEY
The large block of ruins near the top of the picture is the Sun Temple built by the Incas. Immediately
below are the ruins of the much older temple of Pachacamac the chief deity of the region before the
Inca conquest. In the foreground are the remains of the villages established in connection with the
shrine. Temples and town stand close to the sea on and around a group of low hills above the irrigable
level of the valley. The braided course of the river that waters the valley is seen at the left.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Shippee PLATE 7
1. AN AERIAL VIEW OF THE SITE OF THE RUINS OF MACHU PICCHU ON THE
TOP OF A FOREST-COVERED HILL RISING BY SHEER ASCENT NEARLY 4,000
FEET ABOVE A GORGE OF THE URUBAMBA RIVER TO 10,300 FEET ABOVE
THE SEA
2. A GROUP OF AMPHITHEATERS ON THE MARAS PAMPA ABOUT 15 MILES
NORTHWEST OF CUZCO THAT SEEM TO HAVE ESCAPED THE NOTICE OF
ARCHEOLOGICAL EXPLORERS OF THE REGION
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Shippee PLATE 8
1. A SECTION OF THE URUBAMBA VALLEY NEAR CUZCO WITH THE REMARKABLY
WELL-PRESERVED TERRACES AND FORMAL GARDENS IN FRONT OF THE
RUINS OF WHAT IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN THE PALACE OF AN INCA NOBLE
The river is still confined to its bed by stone dikes built before the conquest.
etn aaa
2. A VIEW OF THE CRESCENTIC SAND DUNES THAT DOT THE HIGH DESERT
PAMPAS ON THE AIR ROUTE BETWEEN MOLLENDO AND AREQUIPA
An idea of their size may be had by comparing the one in the foreground with the Bellanca cabin mono-
plane moored within the inner curve,
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Shippee PLATE 9
1. CERRO VERONICA, A SNOW-CAPPED PEAK 19,342 FEET HIGH, THAT RISES
ABOVE THE GORGE OF THE URUBAMBA RIVER ABOUT 30 MILES NORTHWEST
OF CUZCO
One of the old Inca routes from Cuzco to the lower Urubamba Valley was by way of a high pass
immediately north of this peak.
2. CERRO LASUNTAY NEAR HUANCAYO
The snow fields and glaciers of this section are among the largest in the Peruvian landscape. Only
from the air could such detailed and comprehensive photographs be obtained.
Smithsonian Report, 1932.—Shippee PLATE 10
1. UBINAS VOLCANO (17,380 FEET), A LITTLE-KNOWN CONE ABOUT 35 MILES
EAST OF EL MISTI
The diameter of its crater is nearly three times that of El Misti.
2. LOOKING DIRECTLY DOWN INTO THE CRATER OF EL MISTI (19,262 FEET)
FROM AN ELEVATION OF 21,000 FEET
The plane was flown down below the rims of both E] Misti and Ubinas.
STATUS OF WOMAN IN TROQUOIS POLITY BEFORE 1784
By J. N. B. Hewitt
Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution
There are several cogent reasons why this study should close with
the colonial period of the British Colonies in North America. The
final results of the War of the American Revolution, affecting the
affairs of the League of the Iroquois, were the crushing disruption
of its vital institutions and the ruthless sundering of the unity
of its component peoples into hostile parts which later found pre-
carious dwelling-places in various sections of Canada and in several
of the United States; thus the integrity of the League of the Iro-
quois was irreparably dissevered and dissipated, its fundamental
organic institutions ceased to function normally, and so the entire
confederate structure of the once famous League of the Iroquois
swiitly fell into ruins.
The status and plenary power of the Iroquois woman shared in
the common ruin of the vital institutions of her people, and they are
in their original integrity forgotten to-day, and lost beyond re-
covery by her.
Five Iroquoian tribes—the Mohawk, the Seneca, the Onondaga,
the Oneida, and the Cayuga—dwelling in the central and eastern
parts of what is to-day the State of New York, organized during
the heyday of the Stone Age in North America, under the wise
guidance of the prophet-statesman Deganawida, a league or con-
federation of peoples with a carefully designed constitution em-
bodying the principles of health, peace, justice, righteousness, order,
and force (or power). In 1722 the Tuscarora were incorporated
as a sixth member of this league.
These six tribes spoke dialects of the important Iroquoian stock of
languages which is one of the 40 native linguistic stocks of language
spoken north of Mexico.
To-day, in consequence of the disintegrating causes mentioned
above, every one of these six tribes is divided into two or more inde-
pendent parts which occupy residences situated distantly one from
another; so that none of the six tribes mentioned above exists to-day
except in their discrete parts, and none of these parts of tribes is
475
476 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
organized or ruled in accordance with the great principles of the
now defunct League of the Irequois; and so, it may be added, the
use of the phrase, the Six Nations of the Iroquois, as being repre-
sentative of the ancient institutions of the league, is but the droning
of a humbug.
It is not the purpose here to define the earlier and characteristic
Iroquois woman in terms of the Iroquois woman of the modern
reservation system, because the two persons culturally have nothing
in common.
Correctly to appraise and appreciate the true status and plenary
power or authority of woman in the Iroquois State it is needful to
enumerate and to define the several organic units of the league
institution, in which her voice and her will through institutional
means were made dominant and directive, and thus to understand
their relation to the institution of the league as a totality. Only
in this manner may the basic character of her rights, plenary power,
and essential duties and obligations be fully apprehended.
The institutional organic units constituting the structure of the
League of the Iroquois are, beginning with the simplest: First,
the ohwachira; second, the sisterhood of ohwachira constituting the
clan; third, the clan; fourth, the two sisterhoods of clans in each tribe,
the one constituting the father side, and the other constituting the
mother side of the tribe; fifth, the union of these two sisterhoods
of clans constituting the tribe; sixth, the tribe; seventh, the two
sisterhoods of tribes, the one constituting the father side and the
other constituting the mother side of the league; eighth, the union of
these two sisterhoods of tribes constituting the League of the Iroquois.
An ohwachira was an organized body of persons tracing descent
of blood from a common mother, the members being bound together
by the ties of common blood, the strongest bonds known to primitive
men, and so forming an exogamic incest group by a rigid inhibition
of sexual relations among its members formerly under the penalty
of death to the guilty couple; the ohwachira, however, did on occa-
sion exercise the right of adopting a person or persons of alien blood,
the blood tie being then a fiction of the law of adoption.
The ohwachira was not composed of lesser or simpler civil or
political units. But, characteristically, persons were its constitutive
units. They were strictly and rigidly organized by their relative
positions in the line of descent and by their interrelations established
by their relative ages. The performance of obligations and the dis-
charge of duties were implicit in these several positions and so
regarded as obligatory.
The said common mother and her daughters obtained husbands
from alien or rather unrelated incest groups or ohwachira; but the
STATUS OF IROQUOIS WOMAN—HEWITT 477
children of these daughters belonged to the blood stream of the
mother propositus.
It has been said that these ohwachira composed clans; ohwachira
which possessed chiefship titles received eponyms or group names;
but the clans received distinctive faunal names, and so the ohwachira
bore a named allied to that of the clan under which it was grouped.
Clans bore the names of various animals and birds of the habitat
of the tribe to which the clan belonged. So we find the Wolf Clan,
the Bear Clan, the Turtle Clan, the Deer Clan, and so on.
It has been said that the ohwachira was highly organized; its mem-
bers were regimented first by the device of terms of relationship
which fixed the status or standing of every member of the ohwachira
or uterine incest kinship group. LEldership in this discipline was
most important.
The first and highest term is that of mother, which has a much
broader and deeper meaning here than it has among white people;
it is applied not only to the actual mother but to all her sisters and
to all women of her generation in the collateral lines of descent,
who among white people would be called cousins; the second term is
that of mother’s brother, or uncle, which is applied not only to her
actual brothers but to all collateral males of her generation to whom
white people would apply the name cousin.
Here a word of explanation is needful. The native Iroquois words,
sister and brother, as terms of blood kinship have no exact equivalent
term in English. These terms in Iroquois terminology denote
elder sister and younger sister, elder brother and younger brother.
These age distinctions are fundamental and fix the duties and obliga-
tions of these members of the ohwachira one to another.
The persons within the ohwachira were largely regimented or clas-
sified, if one may so speak, by means of these relationships, which
defined implicitly right, duty, or obligation, and these several re-
lationships had well-defined names, so that the right and the duty and
the obligation of each person did not have to be obtrusively recalled.
The names of these relationships were the following, namely: Great
grandmother, grandmother, mother, uncle (i. e., mother’s brother),
elder sister, elder brother, younger sister, younger brother, daughter,
son, granddaughter, and grandson, niece, and nephew, the last two
being used exclusively by the mother’s brother.
Questions of honor, of respect, of right, of obligation, and of duty
depended upon these relative age distinctions among the members of
the ohwachira (or blood-kinship group). It must be remembered
that the English rendering of a majority of these native kinship
terms can not be considered satisfactory, and need not be pressed.
478 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
What is meant here concerning the internal government of the
ohwachira may be understood better by several examples than by
extended technical verbal descriptions of the entire system.
This important fact shows that primordially the “ mother’s
brother,” or approximate “ uncle,” shared measurably with his sister
in her rights and obligations of eldership; and it also explains why
the “ father’s brother,” or approximate “ uncle,” was excluded from
the native category of “ uncle” and placed in that of a “ father ” who
was an alien in blood descent to the offspring of his brother.
Again, the native kinship expressions, ktct”’a* and akiei’’a‘, and
higén’& and khe’gén”a& (Onondaga dialectic forms), are of equal
interest here. The first two are only approximately rendered into
English by the phrases, “ my elder brother ” and “ my elder sister,”
respectively, and the second two expressions by “my younger
brother ” and “my younger sister,” respectively.
It is very plain that the first two cognate forms have nothing in
common with the last two with the exception of the prefixed pro-
nouns, namely, k-, ak-, and Ai-, and khe-, which have only pro-
nominative values.
The notional word stem in the first two expressions is -te7’d‘, and
in the last two, -’gé/’a:. These two word stems are clearly radically
unrelated, showing that the English renderings largely miss the
original meanings of them. But, of course, they correctly allocate
the persons designated by them in the general scheme of eldership.
The native terms are so ancient that their concrete significations are
no longer manifest. But, if a conjecture may be permitted here, it
may be said that there appears little doubt that the word stem,
-tevd‘, primordially signified “the friend, the protector, or the
defender.”
Primarily, the verbal stem underlying the native kinship term,
denoting “mother,” is with little doubt identical with the native
kinship term, denoting “ mother’s brother,” usually rendered into
English by the noun “ uncle,” a term which has a signification, how-
ever, too comprehensive to translate accurately the native term which
strictly excludes the “ father’s brother ” from the category of “ uncle.”
The collective action of the ohwachira was secured by obtaining
the suffrages of the mothers and adult girls in it; but the male
members, the warriors of it, might be consulted if considered ad-
visable.
The ohwachira, which in their own right possessed official titles of
hereditary chiefships, and lesser officials, filled these offices by nomi-
nation by the suffrages of the mothers and adult girls in them. The
federal chief who represented the ohwachira in the tribal council and
also in the federal council, and the chief warriors as well, were
chosen in this manner, usually with the advice of the warriors of
STATUS OF IROQUOIS WOMAN—HEWITT 479
the ohwachira. ‘The woman trustee chief, the highest official known
to Iroquois polity, was also nominated and confirmed in this manner.
She was the executive officer of the ohwachira and was chosen be-
cause of exceptional ability and purity of character; she had a seat
in the federal council in addition to her position as a trustee of her
ohwachira, and so had a somewhat higher standing and authority
than had the male federal chief.
Whatever power and authority were exercised by the woman
trustee chieftain were delegated to her by the mothers—the woman-
hood of the ohwachira to which she belonged—with her nomination
and formal installation into office. Did she act collectively ‘or
jointly with the woman trustee chieftains of sister ohwachira of the
clan, she did so only with the advice and consent of the mothers of
her own ohwachirt, she did not possess, and so did not exercise,
arbitrary or absolute power.
Jointly in conference the woman trustee chieftains of the sister
ohwachira of a clan exercised upon occasion the exclusive right to
adopt other ohwachira of alien blood into the clan.
And the council of the woman trustee chieftains of a sisterhood of
clans exercised, when such action was properly proposed to it, the
exclusive right of adopting an entire clan as a member of such clan
sisterhood.
The woman trustee chieftains of the two complementary sister-
hoods of clans of a tribe, in session assembled, on proper motion and
recommendation, could exercise the exclusive right of adopting an-
other tribe as a sister people. Naturally, in such adoptions the
warriors and the council of male federal chieftains were consulted
upon the advisability of such action, because very often the requests
for such action came from the warriors and the male federal council.
Among the Iroquois, woman was thus supreme in many of the
fundamental activities of the community to which she belonged:
(a) Descent of blood, which gave citizenship in her ohwachira, and
through it to the clan and to the tribe, was traced through her;
(6) the official titles, distinguished by unchanging proper names,
of the several chieftainships of her own ohwachira and so of the
tribe belonged exclusively to her; (c) the lodge or rather her apart-
ment in the ancient long-lodge and all its furnishings and equip-
ment belonged to her; (d) her offspring belonged to her; (e) the
right of the use and occupancy of the lands shared by her ohwachira
with the clan, as the source of food, life, and shelter, belonged to
her; arising from these several vested rights, the woman exercised
the sovereign prerogative of selecting from her brothers and sons the
candidates for the chieftainships of her ohwachira and clan; and
she also exercised the concurrent prerogative of initiating the pro-
480 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
cedure for the deposition of these officers for cause; being the source
of the life in her ohwachira, and through it of that of the tribe, she
exercised the exclusive prerogative of adopting aliens into her
ohwachira, and no man had the right to exercise this prerogative;
she exercised on occasion the authority of forbidding her brothers
and her sons from going on the warpath; not infrequently the male
federal chieftains, to avoid a rupture with a foreign people, took
advantage of this prerogative of the women, asking them to disband
the warriors when they had become unruly and disregarded the
wish of the male federal council.
The mothers, the adult women of the ohwachira, because they were
the natural source of life in it, exercised the right of granting life
or of decreeing death to alien prisoners who might become their
share of the spoils of war for the replacement of some of their own
kindred who may have been killed; the woman might demand from
her husband’s clansmen, or from those of her daughters, a captive
or a scalp to replace a loss in her ohwachira.
The women of the several ohwachira elected trustee chieftainesses
who were the executive officers of the women whom they represented ;
these female officials provided by public levy or contributions the
food required at festivals, ceremonials, and at general assemblies of
the public, or for public charity; they kept a close watch on the
policies and the course of affairs as affecting the welfare of the tribe
as shaped by the male federal council; they guarded scrupulously
the interests of the public treasury, with power to maintain its re-
sources, consisting in late times of strings and belts of wampum,
quill and feather work, furs, corn, meal, fresh and dried or smoked
meats, and of other things, which might serve for defraying and
meeting public expenses and obligations, and to have a voice in the
disposal of what the treasury might contain. Indeed, the woman
owned not only the lands and the village sites but also the burial
grounds of the clan in which her sons and brothers, her daughters
and sisters, were buried.
The women of the ohwachira sought husbands among the men of
ohwachira belonging to clans other than that to which their own
ohwachira belonged. As a general statement of fact, the ohwachira
owed certain important obligations and duties to the ohwachira in
which their sons and brothers had obtained wives and had produced
offspring. In the event of the death of such a child, it was the
solemn duty of the ohwachira of the child’s father to assume at once
the tasks made necessary by the event; to care for and prepare the
corpse for burial, to dig the grave, to prepare the bark case for the
corpse, to provide the food needed for the customary wake or wakes
for the dead, to supply a celebrant to make the usual address of
STATUS OF IROQUOIS WOMAN—HEWITT 48]
comforting sympathy to the mourning ohwachira, and also at the
grave. The mourning ohwachira was by custom relieved of all obli-
gation to work or perform any public business until after the burial!
and the expiration of the tenth day of the greater mourning.
So, by duties and obligations of affinity like these the several ohwa-
chira were bound together for mutual aid and support, thus forming
a congeries of interrelated ohwachira, the essential elements of the
Iroquois commonwealth. Thus, the blood stream of descent of the
ohwachira was kept flowing unbroken by the mothers in it; and the
ohwachira was bound through affinity to alien ohwachira firmly
by the bonds of marriage with the men and women of the alien
ohwachira.
So strong was the taboo of incest among the members of an ohwa-
chira that, in the event that a child was engendered by an incestuous
act, it was declared to have no father’s kinsmen, and so could not
share in the rights due it from a father’s clansmen and clanswomen.
Its reproach was that of being an outlaw; for example, it could claim
from no kinship group the rites of burial. In earlier times incest was
said to be punishable with death for both culprits, since the breaking
of the taboo provoked the hostility of the guardian spirits of the
ohwachira concerned.
The ohwachira as an organic unit maintained its power and
integrity even when incorporated into higher units of organization,
thus vindicating and conserving fully the plenary power exercised
by the Iroquois woman in the political institutions of her people.
In the league as originally instituted there were just 47 ohwachira
which had official representatives in the federal council; that is to
say, there were 47 woman federal trustee chieftains and 47 man fed-
eral chieftains. At a later date this number was increased to 49 by
the incorporation of the last two federal chieftains, named in the
modern Seneca roster. ‘This then made a federal council of 98 peers.
The astute founders of the league had made the experiment of
entrusting their government to a representative body of men and
women chosen by the mothers of the community; they did not en-
trust it to a hereditary body, nor to a purely democratic body, nor
even to a body of religious leaders. The founders of the league
adopted this principle and with wise adjustments made it the under-
lying principle of the league institutions.
The officers of the ohwachira thus chosen by the mothers in it were,
in the order of their importance, first, the woman federal trustee
chief (named Akoydne'rkd’wa in Mohawk and Goydnégd’ né& in
Onondaga), and her aid who was a chief warrior; second, a man fed-
eral chief (named Poyd’ne‘r), and his aid or messenger, also a chief
warrior; third, two or four women officials who with their warrior
482 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
aids had the charge and the direction of the festivals in which they
joined with other ohwachira ina common ceremony. Both the woman
federal trustee chief and the man federal chief had seats in the
federal council of the league. The entire membership of this council
thus consisted solely of representatives of the several ohwachira who
were chosen by the suffrages of women solely and whose tenure of
office was retained by merit during the pleasure of these selfsame
women who nominated them.
But, it must be stated here that not every ohwachira had a set of
officers of this character; the public business of such an ohwachira
was transacted vicariously by the officers of an ohwachira bearing to
it the political relationship of sister.
The woman trustee chief had to see that the male and female
members of her ohwachira and its officers performed their duties
and discharged their obligations as worthy citizens of their
community.
It is deemed a matter of historical interest to state here that in
most of the available versions (for there are several) of the tradition
relating to the birth and life of Deganawida, his mother,
Djigonsa’ sé@’, has unfortunately been displaced by an unhistorical
figure, most commonly called “the Peace Queen,” “the Mother of
Nations,” and other equally erroneous epithets, derived from mis-
information and too hasty deduction. It seems probable to the
writer that this confusion arose from a natural dialectic confusion of
native names.
This unhistorical figure is known by the native Seneca name,
Dijigo"sa’ sé"; i. e., “the Wild Cat” (literally, “ Fat Face”), from
the erroneous deduction that she belonged to the Neutral Nation, or
to the ancient Erie whom the early French explorers called “ the
Cat Nation.” It is seen that there is a great similarity in the two
native names.
The importance and essential character of the ohwachira in the
organic structure of the essential units of the League of the Iroquois
has so far been briefly reviewed to show how absolute was the
woman’s control of the functions of the league. The embodiment
of the ohwachira in the internal structure of the clan did not then
in any essential manner curtail this plenary power of its women.
Tt is to be remarked that the Iroquois woman was sole master of
her person; her husband or lover acquired marriage rights over her
person only by her own consent, or the advice and consent of the
elder women of her own ohwachira.
This great regard for the person of woman was not limited to the
persons of native Iroquois women, but women of alien blood and
origin shared with them this respect. For example: In the face of
STATUS OF IROQUOIS WOMAN—HEWITT 483
circumstances adverse to the Iroquois, Gen. James Clinton, com-
manding the New York division of the Sullivan punitive expedi-
tion in 1779, with orders to disperse the hostile Iroquois and to de-
stroy their homes, paid his enemies the high tribute of a brave
soldier by writing in April, 1779, to his lieutenant, Colonel Van
Schaick, then leading his troops against the Onondaga and their
villages, the following terse compliment: “ Bad as these savages are,
they never violate the chastity of any woman, their prisoner.” And
he added this significant admonition to his colonel, “It would be
well to take measures to prevent a stain upon our army.”
The woman trustee chieftainess was selected from the other eligible
women of her ohwachira because of her outstanding intelligence, her
marked ability, her stability of character, and of the spotless purity
of her life; indeed, she was chosen because she embodied in her per-
son the ideal virtues of a perfect, wholesome woman—kind, indus-
trious, intelligent, loyal, and pure in thought and action.
In a portion of the obsolescent story relating to the mother of
Deganawida, the founder and organizer of the League of the Iro-
quois, fortunately recovered during the past year by the writer,
there occur certain traditional passages of remarkable value and
significance.
In this precious fragment of early Iroquois tradition the mother
of Deganawida bears the noteworthy name, Djigosa’’scé’. This
name was peculiarly personal to her; it was designed to express a
superlative endowment of the noblest attributes characterizing a
wholesome womanhood. Its implicit signification is “A face doubly
new, pure, and spotless”; i. e., “A face new, pure, and spotless in a
superlative degree,” exceeding in these attributes the face of a newly
born babe. Such was the highly expressive face of the virgin mother
of Deganawida as apprehended by the poet annalists of Iroquois
tradition. This was, indeed, an apotheosis of womanhood, of mother-
hood. Such high encomium of wholesome motherhood could have
found expression only in a soil and atmosphere enriched by the best
in thought and striving of Iroquois womanhood.
In the preceding paragraphs of this study it has been the purpose
to show that the spirit of these high encomiums of Iroquois woman
by her own people was not spent in flattering lip service, but that
it was wisely and firmly embodied in the most vital institutions of
the Iroquois commonwealth.
Furthermore, the tradition mentioned above recites the fact that
the mother of Deganawida was the daughter of a very poor woman
who dwelt apart in indigent circumstances. The birth of this daugh-
ter was accompanied by an auspicious omen; she was born with a
caul, and in accordance with contemporary beliefs, she was destined
149571—33—32
484 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
to become a noted and spiritually forceful woman, should she. be at
once concealed and guarded from the sight and presence of all per-
sons except those of her mother or other trusted person until she at-
tained fully grown womanhood. To make her concealment effective
the place of her seclusion was carefully covered with the down of
the cat-tail flag or corn husks.
During this seclusion such a person was regarded as under the
tutelage of a guardian spirit whose guardianship had begun before
birth, and the subject was thought to acquire much abstruse wisdom
and spiritual force of character from other tutelaries.
Because of the means employed to make the concealment most
effective, such a hidden person was said to be “down guarded.”
“husk fended,” or “ down inclosed,” and to have acquired a quasi
sacred or divine character.
Such a divine person then was the mother of Deganawida. It was,
therefore, not at all strange for tradition to assert that such a virgin
maiden could receive life directly from the Creator of men, with-
out the physical mediation of the complementary. sex. And. thus
arose the belief that Deganawida had no earthly father, but that
his life came to his virgin mother directly from the hands of the
Creator. His nativity then was truly a virgin birth.
In her name coming to us from the Stone Age in North America
the noun stem, -go"“sa-, meaning “ face,” is of course metaphorically
used instead of the term denoting the entire person; so substituting
the word “person” in the foregoing translations of the name,
Diigo" sa’ séé’, its full force and significance becomes clear. The
predicative -‘séé’, meaning “ new,” “fresh from the maker,” “ pure,”
“innocent,” “infantile,” has its force here doubled by the iterative
prefix Dji- (for dj-, “again,” “over,” and -ye-, “one”). So that
this characterizing proper name means “The Most New Person,”
“The Most Youthful Person,” “The Most Pure Person,” or “ The
Person the Most Like a New-born Babe.”
Hence, at the great installation council in which the federal
chieftains received their commissions, both men and women, the
mother of Deganawida assisted her great son in this epochal cere-
mony, and she thenceforth became the type of all future women
trustee chieftains. This was another worthy tribute to the worth of
Iroquois womanhood.
In the law governing the settlement or adjustment of murders,
especially those arising from the blood feud, the legal tender for the
killing of a man by another was 20 strings of wampum—10 strings
for the dead person and 10 strings for the life of the killer which of
course had been forfeited by his unfortunate act. But in the case of
the killing of a woman by a man the legal tender was fixed at 30
STATUS OF IROQUOIS WOMAN—HEWITT 485
strings of wampum—20 strings for the woman’s life and 10 strings
for that of the man; but, if the killer were a woman who had taken
the life of another woman, the legal tender in this case was fixed at
40 strings of wampum.
This conclusively shows that the life of a woman was regarded
as of double the value of that of a man to the community. This law
was enacted for the express purpose of suppressing blood feuds
which had been sapping the lives of the brave and had been the
source of constant fears.
This great respect for the person of the woman among the Iroquois
was thus manifest everywhere. In two of the rituals of the con-
dolence and installation council the following noteworthy language
occurs concerning the esteem in which woman was held, namely:
“The Creator of our kind has indeed endowed the person of our
mother (the woman), with high honor and also with the full measure
of mind and reason. Give heed, therefore, to her words of
admonition and advice.”
A basic rule of the constitution of the League of the Iroquois
provided in the event of the extinction of an ohwachira by the
death of its women, which possessed chiefship titles, that, for the
preservation of this title, the federal council should place it in trust
with a sister ohwachira of the same clan to which the moribund
ohwachira belonged, during the pleasure of the federal council of
the league. This provision was essential since no new federal chief-
ships were instituted after the death of Deganawida, and it was a
requirement of the constitution that all seats of federal chiefs should
be kept filled.
The mothers and adult women of an ohwachira possessed the in-
herent right to hold councils, such as those at which candidates for
chieftain and war chiefs were nominated by them. Such a council
of women formulated for discussion by the federal council some press-
ing proposition, in which they might be joined by a sister ohwachira ;
that is to say, it exercised the right of initiative. In lke manner,
such a council proposed to the federal council the submission to the
suffrages of the people, including children (the mothers exercising
the right to cast their votes), any question which might be agitating
the minds of the people; that is to say, it exercised the right of
referendum. The federal chieftainess exercised the duty of initiating
the move for the recall of the federal chief of her ohwachira who had
persistently broken his vows of proper official behavior, in accord-
ance with the law governing her position; that is to say, she exer-
cised the right of recall.
One or more ohwachira, as has already been stated, constituted a
clan. Where there are more than one ohwachira, they were united
486 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
as a sisterhood of ohwachira, and were independent of one another
in action. For example: The Mohawk and the Oneida tribes, singu-
larly like some of the Huron tribes in this respect, each had three
clans, namely, the Bear Clan, the Wolf Clan, and the Turtle Clan,
which were constituted of a sisterhood of ohwachira, respectively ;
each ohwachira possessed a male chiefship title, a woman trustee
chiefship title, war chiefships, and other lesser official titles. The
Mohawk Bear Clan, for example, was constituted of the Large Bear
Ohwachira, the Weanling Bear Ohwachira, and the Nursing or Cub
Bear Ohwachira; these three ohwachira sisterhoods did not have a
common regimen—they were each absolute in the management of
their internal affairs. These facts again show how woman in the
largest practical measure dominated in all the civil and political
activities of the Iroquois state.
In becoming an integral part of a clan—a higher unit of organi-
zation—the ohwachira necesarily delegated some of its self-govern-
ment to this higher unit in such wise as to render this coordination
of organic units more cohesive and interdependent. The institution
of every higher organic unit involved new privileges, duties, and
rights, and the individual came under a more complex control and
his welfare became more secure through tribunals exercising a greater
number of delegated powers in a broader jurisdiction.
The following brief summary of the characteristic rights, privi-
leges, and obligations of the clan may be instructive:
First, the right to a distinctive name, customarily derived from
that of some animal, bird, or reptile, characteristic of the habitat,
regarded, perhaps, as a guardian genius or tutelary deity; second,
representation by one or more chiefs in the tribal and in the federal
councils; third, an equitable share in the communal property of the
tribe to which it belonged; fourth, the right and the obligation to
have the nominations for chieftain and war chief, and woman trustee
chieftain, and their aids, confirmed and installed by officers of the
tribal council, and since the institution of the League of the Iroquois,
by officers of the federal council; fifth, the right to protection by the
tribe of which it was a constituent member; sixth, the right to the
titles of the chiefships and war chiefships hereditary in its ohwa-
chira; seventh, the right to certain songs, chants, dances, and
religious observances; eighth, the right of its men or women, or both
together, to meet in council; ninth, the right to the use of certain
proper names belonging to the several constituent ohwachira; tenth,
the right to adopt aliens through the essential action of its ohwachira;
eleventh, the right of its members to the use of a common burial
ground; twelfth, the right of the members of its constituent ohwa-
chira, possessing official titles, to nominate candidates for chieftain,
STATUS OF IROQUOIS WOMAN—HEWITT 487
trustee woman chieftain, and chief warrior (some clans have more
than one of each class) ; thirteenth, the right and obligation to share
in the religious rites, ceremonies, and public festivals of the tribe and
the league. It is thus seen that a large number of the essential
attributes of the ohwachira may be predicated of the clan which did
not absorb the identity of the ohwachira.
A dispassionate survey of the underlying principles and general
laws and regulations of the League of the Iroquois for the purpose
of becoming acquainted with the mood and spirit in which they were
conceived reveals the startling fact that the hand, the heart, and the
mind of woman had a directing and molding influence in their formu-
lation and expression, for in noteworthy fashion they are uniformly
humane—even tender, tolerant, beneficent—and prudently designed
to secure the well-being of contemporary and future generations;
they are not harsh, not truculent, nor defiant of reason.
The watchful anxiety manifested for the peace and welfare of the
children of the Commonwealth of the Iroquois clearly shows the
insistent expression of mother love as its primary source. This
love of children breaks forth full blown in the charge to the newly
installed federal chieftain, who is the executive representative of
woman in the discipline of government.
In this remarkable charge, the newly installed chieftain is urged,
as one of his most important duties, to devote anxious and especial
care to securing the well-being of “ the children who, running to and
fro, sport about him; of the children who, still creeping, propel
themselves about him in the dust; of the children whose bodies are
still made fast to cradle boards; and lastly, even of those unborn
children who, with faces turned this way, are on their way hither
below the surface of the earth.” So that these little ones “might
have peace of mind and body for even one poor day.”
In North America the status and the plenary power of the Iro-
quois woman in the period covered by this study were unmatched
achievements of native statecraft. In her keeping were the purity
and nobleness of blood, the order of generations in the genealogical
tree, and the conservation and perpetuation of the ohwachira or
uterine family brood through the pains and cares of motherhood ;
these were each and all inherent in her person. She indeed pos-
sessed and exercised all civil and political power and authority.
The country, the land, the fields with their harvests and fruits be-
longed to her. The order of official succession was founded in her
blood; her children belonged to her; she presided at the contracting
of marriages affecting her ohwachira; in the crisis of events the
decision of the question of war or peace fell to her arbitrament;
her plans and wishes molded the policy and inspired the decisions
of councils.
488 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1932
Although the male federal chieftains were chosen by her from
among her brothers and sons to consider and decide public affairs,
they did not act for themselves but only as the representatives and
delegates of the woman in those matters which did not seemingly
require her presence. Even the names of her children came
from her.
In striking contrast with these powers of woman, the Iroquois men
were quite apart and restricted to themselves; they perpetuated
nothing; their own children were aliens to them. With their pass-
ing everything ceased to be—the ohwachira or uterine family brood
became extinct. Nothing was passed on by them. If there were
only men left constituting the remnant of an ohwachira, in what-
ever number they might be, or whatever the number of the children
they might have, this ohwachira was already extinct.
This was true because the children of these men would belong to
the ohwachira of their mothers. The woman alone through her
progeny preserved the continuity of the blood of the ohwachira to
which she belonged.
With the destruction and subversion of organic kinship institu-
tions of the Iroquois state through direct impact with the white
man, the Iroquois woman quickly lost her unmatched pristine
status and her plenary social and political power, and so her dis-
persed descendants to-day are groping among those ruins perchance
to find her lost jewels.
INDEX
A
Page
Abbot Dr Charles ' Gs secretary.of the institutions = It,
XI, xiit, 1, 14, 28, 29, 33, 38, 45, 50, 61, 68, 64, 65, 72, 74, 77, 89, 99, 101
(CASS Erte) a ee c es CO a) Ye em Yn We ule 107
JN} TY OYE BT AY GL oS ee Ea a IE Oe) PAL
Adams, Charles Francis, Secretary of the Navy (member of the Insti-
byt O 10)) ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee en ee XI
Agriculture, Insect enemies of insects and their relation to (Clausen). 353
Alderman, Arthur Richard (The meterorite craters at Henbury, Central
AUD NSH EDERE1 EES} J VR SO oS 2 a 223
ARCS Beth al, 1 B nc (0) oa LSet NE Sa See ea eee ee ee ees XII, 25
Aldrich, Loyal B., assistant director, Astrophysical Observatory___ x1, 63, 64
Algae for scientific research, Cultivating (Meier) ________________ a BYe
AMET] Cant HT SFOnIGAl PASSO Cle til Olay tC [OTe ee 84, 88
ATMA Ole the -AShLOply sical ODServatOn yee 2s ee en ee 2, 65, 84, 87
ESTO REN SE SLT OU DOSS gee aS es He ie I NE Gs Ow
BAT EsITUIIS Sere 4 TR ee are SE a De Ee ee — 6,100
| OOF USS ES a a aS RRS TS RI Be Se LS re a Po 101
EER (an ee i eee ee AO OR
DENCY LDU EES GU EAS pr AE ee te OS eee eS a ea 1,6
Assistant secretary of the Institution__________ XI, x1, 8, 26, 28, 77, 99, 101, 102
ASOD MUSICA! ZO DSCLE VA OT yi eee ee ee Dy at
ESTA ONE VSS SA, A AE DE IE ED eS Sen eae we ee eee 2, 65, 84, 87
TDA OS a jc Se ES eT NS SS es 15, T9
JOR] SVE Hc) 0 eR a A aR a 0 ee ee ee ee 87
Let) 0X0) ERs Ae ne ee ee ee ee eee 62
SEE a a A a aE i es 2 MeL PN ee nO XIII
PNG EANSE? BTV VE EG (eA Sa SS ee oe Se ee ee eee 4
B
Bacon fund; Virginia: Purdy at teres ee isis pana taal ae 4, 91
Bacon traveling scholarship, Walter Rathbone_____/ +++) 25
aE ea tirgehsse tevin Chav Ur iy, A Se ae 4,91, 96
Barstow tund wh rederie D2. ee ee he yeti teas ag 4,51, 91, 96
Bartsch: Drs ia wlest itor. och ob ie semrigreegt ) ele ote A eet xi) 25
iBassler,Dne i Raty (Si jswietees ah ewiabes hig slants Netley OT ahs XII, 24
Bean VB artOngAs ew. 2 220 Beant a eae ee 0 ee ae od Se 28
Belote; Theodore, 'T-.. sseean. sep ee Sacre ae ed UP een se XII
ISNT IN S23 he ht Se ee ee Se yd ek EY 24
Bingham Rovperte we CLecent) == soe ee ee ee x1, 3
Bird banding in America, A decade of: A review (Lincoln) -__________ 327
Birds; Satety, devices imi wines of. (Gaal eum) ee 269
Bishop, Carl Whiting, associate curator, Freer Gallery of Art___________ XII
149571—33 489
490 INDEX
Page
Bordeny SR ich ar ee teense se See ee ete ee 18, 26
BOsSsN. ee ee ee 19, 25
Brackett; Dre hieden Ck) S25) sae ee Nan ice
Breasted, James H. (The rise of man and modern research) —-_-_-------- 411
Brown, Walter F., Postmaster General (member of the Institution) —-__~ x1
Bryant, Herbert S., chief of correspondence and documents, National
NMUSEUINS = ee en a ee XII
Bundy, John, superintendent, Freer Gallery of Art____-__-__________-_- >. G0 f
Byrd Antarctic Expedition, Some geographical results of the (Gould)---- 2385
Byrd Admiral seol Chae envi yin et ee ee 100
Cc
Ganfiela’ collection fund == = 22-2 = = Sore a ee oe eee 4, 91, 96
Carnesiesinstitution Of. Washington] s=s sees = eee ee 26
Casey fund, Rhomasiias=see ae ee ee 4, 91, 96
Casey, airs soaiural, Welsh 250g ae a ee eee Soe eee 5
Chamberlain tund) ran cis: Weqe ss. ee eee 4,19, 91, 96
Gari b res 55 Mi aa es a a er ee 22
Chancelloriok the insti twiiOn2 ee ee eee XI, 2.0,.67 99) 101
Chapin, Roy D., Secretary of Commerce (member of the Institution) ~~ xy
Chief Justice of the United States (chancellor and member of the
Tn Ste bUtiOn) 2 ee re aS Pe sa es ae ee xI, 2, 3, 6, 99, 101
Clark. Austin let os eS a euey ((7f
CO) Weg kes Dy am Ol aves Lei han Gy ast 0 eee ened anes ee ae! Tn eee 100
Clark, 172) 10,0 he) Be Sep arenes eae peep epi janeese ee ora urea er eae te eS XIII
Clausen, Curtis P. (Insect enemies of insects and their relation to
ACTICUITUTE) Re oe eee a eee ee eS ee eee 353
@Ol TNS He Bs: Ap ere a ere ee ae a ee ee ee Ee 22
Cooper, DE, Gel sa a ea aN 25
Corbin, Wilhtam i: librarian of the Institwioness.2s 2 = a ee eee LG LELS
CBr ov UU ERE B Haphard Cha ere 0 (ey aac) Se eae ard ie koe 5 Aa aN eran a XII
Crawlords OMG risen CEISEOEICA TiC CLES) ease oem ene 445
Crump, Representative Hdward Hh. (regent) =) ===) XAived
Curators Tol ENE ENS GG ta Os Se Se ae ee ee See XII
Curtis, Charles, Vice President of the United States (member of the
TNSEICUGIOM) ee ea ee Sa ae es eee ree ee XIee
D
Daughters of the American Revolution, National Society, report________ 89
Delano: Krederic 7A: (regent) /=-= re tee Nagel ee eer mere ae x1, 3, 98, 99
Densmore! | Mranceses oe Sees eee ee eee 11, 44, 45
Determinism, The, decline: of (Eddington) 222-22 Saat a ee 141
Doak, William N., Secretary of Labor (member of the Institution) —_____ XI
Dorsey, Harry W., chief clerk and administrative assistant to the Secre-
{I 1 eh ee a ee a es SS na ae re ee eT
Dorsey, Nicholas W., treasurer and disbursing agent__________________ Xa, KE
Donglass; DrAndrewa hi cotts 22-2 ae ee ee ee 1, 6,101
E
Earth, The age of, and the age of the ocean (Knopf) ___________-_______ 194
Eddington, Sir Arthur (The decline of determinism)___________________ 141
HIGKEMEy Cry ERC OL ss se SS res NS ala ee 28
INDEX 491
P
Ethnological and archeological investigations, Cooperative______________ “S
Hihnology.. Bureausot American sss i ss ae 1, 2, 5, 10; 101
Ro rea Tey a Paes es Se ee ae 75, 79
BATES VCSEL OTe = ene Ne NS a a aes er eae 84, 88
SES C0 el ee ee eee en ES a 39
Steen eee eee re re ee OE ee Be ee ea ee Sed XII
fvanisecollections Victor di st We ie ee 51
Hx Chane es Servicer Ln terme tl ore] see ee ee eee 1, 6,11
PREY DOS EE Zh a A a neg ao A ALE ei Pl I 46
(SEY a a aa ap NR re en 8 tl =e ae et Poe Ny x11
Hxplorationsands fel dk wOlkece es ee en sea poe see ne Reece oe 8
Fr
LNTETTISE WN DASE Ae, TD CET eCay wove m teas ry ee CO 9 OF WON D0 eh ee 10, 20
TRS OATE RSS) NCO PU eh OYE) a YSH Eb 109 0 a a ea ees he ee eS 3
HorbessWeilaiG assistant Hbrarign= =... 2s) 2a en ane ee ee eee XII
Hoshae Drea Walliamts hese oS eases Sek ee eee ee x11, 8, 24
MO Wi CARN CLG TSEC Kp se vi) Woes ees aes a ee ee ee eo SI XIII, 63
D Dreteyeye SX OL NI VS Dia es, 5 a ro Re ohak eh Deli he a eee 5 2 ce eh ea a el le em i se Le 92
| OSXO OVS Stes os Se A Bee A ic Se Stina tantd doe ret te baat ieee pe heed foe fie eels 96
Rees GAL Ty Oe MA Ge ee oe eS Si Ra a pees are ee ee ae 1,5, 10
Tera BY G (aes EA ek 8 yD Sa a land rt eke yl MI era Pan ee es SLE A A 4, 92
IT pete ly Gyigte ibe ai A Da 8h a ah heb i ed til 9, Soe eae ee at SS 9, 37, 75
DUDITCH THON Ss Se a ee aa een ke 84, 87
TOPOL GS a= ee ee ee eae aes ee 34
FS] FEE RA yA AM ig Ee En lbw ls 6 TaN A Ta 99 pS rae wee ama Sie ae xII
CECA OHS ee oe ee ey AL a ee ee ele ata es ee Re 5
AR CLIN TTT ers EMTs EC eer me ee ee ae Coty (iff
G
Gazin- Dr Charles Siete se ee ee ee als eee ted Jee eee 27
Gellatlhy2 on == ans eee See ee Pie Seer eee ee ee ee 100
UP EY COM CCE OMe ere eerie at eres epee Pn AB ae SE 5
Geographical results of the Byrd Antarctic Expedition, Some (Gould)-_ 285
Geological history of the North Atlantic region, A contribution to the
GCS TUT Tesh th pe see eee ae a ee Be 207
Gidley, =Drs James! (Walla Se eee eee 13, 28
Galperstan@ OS Ce Tey Gra a ae re ee ee ee eee ee XII
Gill, De Lancey, illustrator, Bureau of American Ethnology_---------~- x1I, 45
Gilligan, Albert (A contribution to the geological history of the North
PATEL a ts Came TO © IM) see ee ate eee ee me ee ee 207
Gitmore DreC@harlesiwe - 2-2-5 ase ae eee See ee ee ee 19, 25
Goldsborough, Representative T. Alan (regent) _____________________-_ xI, 3, 101
Goldsmith, James S., superintendent of buildings and labor____-----__~- XII
Gould, Laurence M. (Some geographical results of the Byrd Antarctic
PRESS CLL GY OM!) ase ae ee en RE SW 2 ee ee 235
Graf, John E., associate director, National Museum____________________ xII
Grp eee) ek Ct Rage ee ae ee ee ee ee 27
Graham, Lieut. Commander R. R. (Safety devices in wings of birds)___- 269
492 INDEX
Page
“Great wall of Peru”, The, and other aerial photographie studies by the
Shippee-Johnson Peruvian Expedition (Shippee) —---_-_-____----_--_- 461
Guest, Grace Dunham, assistant curator, Freer Gallery of Art_-------__ XII
Gunnellsniueonard©2- 28-8 ~ == sen Wee ee ee ee ee ee xin, 74
H
EVD ell, fete Ch mee en a re es Serer ee gs pe ee 4
a chenbero = fun das 2s- = an ee ES ee ee 4
Hall. Dri Maurice: Caan eee 27
Hamilton fund 2 2328 a ee ee ee eee 4
lectures sila re ree a EE 1,6
Harriman Alaska Hxpedition) neport==222 == eee 84
Harrington, Ohne. -s- 2 2 a ee ae ee eee xu, 11, 40
INenderson, His, P2222) ae ee ee ee ee ee 24
ur eve yer) 0 ca aa pt EN dR por es eh gs Sage na 4
Hewitt, John N. B_---------------------_____------------------ xir, 11, 42, 43
(The status Of woMmanyiny Lroquois polity) ee 4795
iulicpsames, HL, property, clerk of the Institution =e XI
historical cycles (Crawtord)) 22s ee 445
Hodgkins tund, wcenerale "2 se eee 4
ST UG i ee eee 4, 91, 96
Holmes, Dr. William H., director, National Gallery of Art_______-_ x1I, 29, 38
Hoover, Herbert. President of the United States (member of the Insti-
UELEL ECO) 0) eee ee ee ee ee ee ee Nonny
inover,. William Hos 4 2 ee ee ee xii, 69
1S Po SRSA esa) reed Pope Gt 9 {y= yr RS OOP a 0 oo I aes a 60
EL OUS PW alter = 2 seh oe See ee ee ee XII, 24
Howards Droaduelan@.@2 24. = 2 ae 2 ee ee ee eee XII
Eindlickar var: JAlCS sor = = ee a ees eee eae x11, 7, 8, 18, 24, 77, 102
Hughes, Charles Evans, Chief Justice of the United States (chancellor
FHAVOL TaaKeranyoysre COME Leaves J OaVsp Sl Moh CON) je dBA OHI Koal
Hashes! und, STG =". = a eee ee ee 4, 91, 96
Hurley, Patrick J., Secretary of War (member of the Institution) ~_____ XI
Hyde, Arthur M., Secretary of Agriculture (member of the Institution) — XI
I
Indus Valley, the ancient civilization of the, Mohenjo-Daro and (Mac-
DESEETN A) | PDS ae pt A a ee a a pe ee 429
Insects, Insect enemies of, and their relation to agriculture (Clausen)-_ 353
International Catalogue of Scientific Literature, Regional Bureau for
thei United states. a i Sa Se ee ee Se eee xi, 1;5,12
TODO Giee ame a ee a ee eee ee a a ee eee 73
International “xchange: Services. === ee 1, 5, 11
Te) OS) by recente earpiece oh SE a ond ee i Le LS al a 46
Sti a ee eR ene ee eee Ae aa ee eee XII
Iroquois polity, The status of woman in (Hewitt) _—_-------—-------—= 475
Iselin, C. O’D., II (Some phases of modern deep-sea oceanography, with
a description of some of the equipment and methods of the newly
formed Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) ------_---_--_-_-_--__- 251
INDEX 493
J
Page
Johnson, Representative Albert (regent) ------------___________ XE 3) 1015102
SOUNStOOE Dr Wathen sos ae 8 a SEs xin, 72
JOEL Oras Davi de stabl = aa ee ee ee ee ee 13, 28
Fit, Neate Mies ark ee he oer ee Sa ei aE aad) 8 “ers asa ee XU, 22, 77
K
Kashmir and other parts of North India, Through forest and jungle in
OR OC ee eee eile gee ag ens ape ga a ed 307
KavenGoeWeeGan CLhhes measurement: sO 1 OlSC)) ee cee ee ae 159
BESG TITY pp sspeES TSS WV OES Gb yee ses a a a pe es ee XII
Knopf, Adolph (The age of the earth and the age of the ocean)________ 194
Knowles, William A., property clerk, National Museum_______________ XII
ARTIS CT paELO ED CEG AV eee reset a eee ne si ee Ee Wy Sia a US XI, 22
L
Wan ele yee ACLOU BUTCH ANT aye See eee ae ee eo et pe ee 75, 79
Peary 2°] © yeas GO UGE TVA lg a ar ne See ee a ee 100
Latin American expedition to South Americai___. ets 39
mavehlins Enwins\(recent) ibs 2 Be a ek a en Oey pas x3
Leary, Ella, librarian, Bureau of American Hthnology________ teeters XII
ew tour. red eriGk Win = ts Sees Sees ee ee ee ae XII
libraries of the Institution and. branches==22> ¢) =see fe ee 1,9
j SS OO) el REE sane ie OE ee ees see Se eee nee 75
SUIMM ALY W Ob -ACCCSSIONS 2. aaa eee eee a 81
Library of Congress, Smithsonian deposit. ine 2 a a UBS 1
Light therapy, The present state of: Scientific and practical aspects
CMV C2) eae ea rn Wie neaet) Fe 385
Lincoln, Frederick C. (A decade of bird banding in America: A review)= 327
Lodge, John Ellerton, curator, Freer Gallery of Art_________________. | xu, 38
loring, Ausustuse. (resent) = 3-882 ta tie cmisy te BE Page? Sat,
WE On en ee he ee asda 52
iauce,. Leepresentative, Obert_— 2S Sas 3, 99, 101
M
Mackay, Dorothy (Mohenjo-Daro and the ancient Civilization of the
TES VOUS ee 429
Man. The rise of, and modern research. (Breasted )i2- ==" 222 oe 411
Mann, Dr. William M., director, National Zoological Park________ sant, OF at, il
IVES Fie Ee Og 1D Wel NG eee ea eh ee 21, 28
TOU ripelSY RECT Og Bly oA 1 ETH E erKS 0) XK © acta i ie ech rs en 72
Master key of science, The: Revealing the universe through the spectro-
scope “GRussell) -2 2s <2 SCSI 2 a ee ae es See 133
Maxon bre Willigim (R=. 22255 oa ee ee Se ee ee edt= > (AL
Mayer, Edgar (The present state of light therapy: Scientific and prac-
tical aspects Of) <= 5 15h. ee ha Be ey oh a peak arg 385
McATister 7iDrs (y? Deg eee A ea des fuse teeter ie Sy tie xm
Meiers Dr. Wlorence Ws. 2 = 2 ee ein) sree aisha 66, 70
(Cultivating alge for scientific research) Usa. 4 sais _ fh ret 373
494 INDEX
Page
Merriam, Dr: John’ Cs iQ@regentt) see eee ee eee xI, 98
Meteorite craters at Henbury, Central Australia, The (Alderman)__-_ 223
Michelson, Dr, Drumans 22 ee ee ee ares x11, 11, 40
Millers GerrituSs Ji. 2 ee fe a eee ee XII, 25, 77
Mills, Ogden L., Secretary of the Treasury (member of the Institution) — xI
Mitchell, William D., Attorney General (member of the Institution) —~-__ XI
Mitman, Carl W222 22222208 Ss ee eee ee Xu, 77
Mohenjo-Daro and the ancient civilization of the Indus Valley (Mackay) 429
Montaciee Re presemtelchyey Ae rele (CS Mit) ieee cee ceca em 3, 101
Buh (aya or eens gy eae gE heparan pen Saas eee ors eee ae 12, 64, 65
Moore, Representative R. Walton (regent) —-------—_ xI, 3, 64, 65, 98, 99, 100, 101
SINT TE TOs Yves op ESTES 27S USAT Gn ig Ca ec ae ee 100, 101
De@QUeSt 2232 eS eo eee ee a ee ee eee 1,6
CSET Soe Oc ee ne se ae et oc RS 5
IT ZU ic gee AD ws we se ae a a a a ne er ae ee 25
Myercftund, (Catherine: Wiles 2222s See eee ee ee 4, 91, 96
N
National) Academy. of Design, CouncilSot thet et Betas ees 32
National (Gallery toftcArts2 2222225 ee ee ee 1 521
COMMISSIONS SS Se Ee a ee 29
GITeCIOR 2 oe eh es ee Ae ee xII
exhibitions held: during the: year2 22 Se See ee 10, 30
IDPAaRY: 28 ee ee ee 75, 80
publications! 2222 so5 2 a ee ee eee ee 33, 84
Ranger fund purchases, The Henry Ward22_ 222222 eee 32
|e) O19. tl Rare iO ek Bek SM SIE Manes £8 6 09S se pio Yeo A ae 8 Ee ce AS Dea Ce AYE og ot 2 29
National. Geographic. -Society==.22--3 == = a eee 18
National WMiniseume 2S Ptsekts iti. BOG eee, SUBS Sek a ee Pe 2, 5, 9
MUD ary ee TS SE EL SR TRAN TSS SS ES ES A 9, 75, 17
Natural History abullding) plans=for=wintseo= =o. =e eee 9,16
publications: 2522-2252 Se a ee SER Se a Se rere 84, 87
112) 0.0) ol shee eee Sa pee ee SEN PRION SS ae i oe pan ee ope Re Bela ES Sy 15
SE 0 ENA ete Ske Mealy aes bee Di Ma Re ROD UNE LR eer Ek RBS NRE ht ve xII
NAtiOn ale ZOOL OSCARS Te iee ee ee ee 15) On Ole Om
PUTT ae a ae tS = ae ee ie ea ee 75, 80
T@DOUG Soa Sn a he es i eee en ee 51
SH 5 1 0 pea pa RS iy CORBA “ese TPN eae SIA NS BES NTS Rrra te oN XII
ING@CrON ORY) = ne as Sel ee eT a 13
INGISES RHE SIN Ca SUITETIN CN tO tem (CIR Dy) rr ee 159
North Atlantic region, A contribution to the geological history of the
CGA U Tp 79) ese a wees ee Sy PARED pee a logs Ske 7 ree a8 194
O
Ocean, the age of, The age of the earth and (Knopf)______________-_____ 194
Oceanography, deep-sea, Some phases of modern, with a description of
some of the equipment and methods of the newly formed Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institutions Giselim) ees ee ee 251
Oehser; Paul H., editor) Nationally Museum= ous sie 3) oor Sea XII
Olmsted Dre Ar Ea er I a ae aS TB tng ge Ne RTE Cid
INDEX 495
1
Page
Pell rund: .Cormeliadsivingstonee 2 2202206. 25) SO ae aie er 4, 92, 96
Peru, The great wall of, and other aerial photegraphic studies by the
Shippee-Johnson Peruvian Expedition (Shippee)___-_-.__-_-_-_-_-_ 461
Pianterecords ot.theanocks: (Seward) 2-2. | Sateen is 363
Foore fund lucy land, George: Wes ee Fa eee ie 4, 92, 96
President of the United States (member of the institution) __~-________ Xo
Publications of the institution and branches__-—~_—-- 2-2 1, 8, 83
MOOR oe 22 oooh Eee eed SE ee. ree alyt ati ott of Se 84
R
RAG atLoneAnGsOrcanisms, wD ivasi ONMOl ee oe ee ipoaee a kta
VINO BEEN 79
TRE) CONS eo ee eee ee ee ee ee 66
5S Uren oe Sr ae a aes 2 Se XIII
RAG atone Olara CADDO) mas Sata = ss ee ee ee ee ee 107
Ravenel, William de C., administrative assistant to the secretary___ xm, 28, 77
Regentsrof thes Institution bOard Of ees a ee XI, 2
EXCCUULVe ACOMMITTCe Hs Hate oo Se ee x1, 98
SEY YO oe le ee ih 91
WROCeCO ings 2 eee ae Se ee a 99
VRYSH OLS TR PTOKO Sh ea\(O V0 DES Oy ay tt DEES Meas ep ee eee ee ee en eae 4, 92, 96
esearehe ConporationgotayNe wa VOGKe ss mes ss ae ee ee ee 5, 66, 101
AWALCS LO PD OCLOTSE DO OULTASS andl Amit Cys 6
ARESSOES A @ Wael Cc He oe a ee Sg ee x11, 24
32) CESS Een ED 0 C0 es RNS a eee eee ee 4
Rhoades, Katharine Nash, associate, Freer Gallery of Art__----___ XII
ICH and Saye OLA CCl Ge shaw een ae ele ee) SS Sea ee ee ee DA
lentolavecyor(oae Ores (Clo pales \MENNE Kee ee ee a ee ee ee 14, 28, 77
Hedley; 7S OSCRIN ele 2a ae ce as es ee ees Se ne | ee a aR Par TIT
Rise of man and modern research, The (Breasted) ____---_-_-§_________ 411
| BOL Oe 6 Se On CRE Ee SERS NE ge Sa See ee ree 18
OWEriSH Dr guCan ky ese gts sna ee Ee RY be ee xu, 11, 41
HO DINSON Senators OSep lie a Ges Crit) ee ee xI, 3, 99; 102
Robinsontelaes. GVarlablessiats))— 05 22a ee soe ee 121
RockefellerkhHound ations sl. ss. 5 ee eee ee ee 5
Rocks Plan terecOnd suo tach em GS ey sll) cere eee 363
oevling Colleckion tun Gases ae eee Sy Ae i eee 4, 19, 92, 96
Roebling ts ong Ass ee Saeed Eee 2 Oo es 5, 101
Rolling tund. 7 Miriam, and William: (22 3o tee oe 4,92, 96
ROLINS AWalliamisr. estas. ree eee ree Sao Bt ey 5
Poussell Dre Elen ry, NOES =4.> eo ne eee ee ey a 1, 6, 102
(The master key of science: Revealing the universe through the
SWECELOSCO DC) ae Ee ts a ee are eee ed 2 ian 2 eo ee 1338
FUSSE] eee COW SEN Gis ast Jt carne eer eas 2a ae eee 18, 23, 27
Ss
safety. devices-in ‘wings of birds. (Graham) .___--\.. 269
SSAA ON: ttn et ee a Ne de eo ee Le 4
496 INDEX
Page
Searles, Stanley, editor, Bureau of American Ethnology________________ XII
Secretary. of. the. Institution2=.2=25 42222 = 2 a eel atten te tyres III,
XII, x1II, 1, 14, 28, 29, 33, 38, 45, 50, 61, 63, 64, 65, 72, 74, 77, 99, 101
Setzler,- Hc M2 S02 os os et per etre ieee Ee ere rE es 22) 23
Seward, Dr. Albert Charles) 2-3) =) ere nfo lhe 25 ears 1397, 1102
(Blant records ofthe: rocks) 2 2 ea ee Epa heen 2 Pre 363
Sheldon,..\W..) Gi == 3 see ares whee arta hs al orate Vn eels Rey terel eS BPP ee ayes] 18, 26
Shippee, Robert (The “ great wall of Peru” and other aerial photographic
studies by the Shippee-Johnson Peruvian Expedition) _______________ 461
Shoemaker, Coates W., chief clerk, International Exchange Service____ xm, 50
Smith, 4Or- ugh" MS See 2 ae Se ee ee ee ee 18, 26
SINT EES O Tae re) eV TT CG are ee are a ae ee ee eee 2
DECUCS eee ese Ee ee ae nt ee ee sees 91
SH CAN Kel OVECOTAU KEN OY. VT ATE Les e} OO) eS 84, 86
contributions to knowl cd 2:e=2 === a =sas ease eee 84
TUCO Ward Cra Gm BUT a a Se ae Ee re ee 4,91
NECHUNE GE a= = Ser a re ee a ra ne ae ee 6
INMISCO LAM COUSE COL LC CEOS eae 84, 85
DaATvenit; Lun Gas 2s oo ee a ee er a ee ee ee re eee 4
STEMI ET Cis ys CLG OS oa se Se plerrg
Special publications: =" 2222 sae ass se ae eS eee eae ee 84, 87
EDA ESS) wy (Gary 0 UL 00 |S pea a ep ete waren a na emer eae ae eA oe 4, 96
SMI Oty eSOMALOTs VCC, HSL Cry ) ee a ce ee x1, 3, 99
SLOSS Bia chang ICs eG) aU (BN) 0} 0 0% Yeeros ers pe pase eed on ee EP la le tol Ne ie 107
SOEC AES TERS Tess Oe ee ee a re a a ee ve 18
Spectroseope, revealing the universe through the. The master key of
STOIC y CECT SSCL NG) a a a rs ae cae eo ee ea ee ee 133
SDT SEL: shui Ca Rein Kee es eee ee oe ee ee ee 3, 4, 92, 96
Stars. Variablea(GRobinson)) 22022 2a ee ee ee ee ee 121
Stejnegers Dr Leonhard 22282 222 2a eee ee ee ee ee Ce XII
RSS E NC VEE ited Benge Mhgad 6 Fe i pape 2 etal apa i cane eyelets perenne LN Seat 27
ROU KERS ee] Yigyik © Mh 1 fn ctr a pe Rhee MS Sapa oh Rn A eh a aS hy Lie Path
Stimson, Henry L., Secretary of State (member of the Institution) _-____ XI
Stirling, Matthew W., chief, Bureau of American Hthnology__ x1r, 10, 18, 39, 45
Strong. Dr. JWillamy Doone ee ee eee ee od aby Lilet doe i)
Swanson senator Clad erase (Gee: crt; mee ee ae ae eer ieee nee aoe xt, 3, 99
HSN EED ORO eyetel Dei) 00) ON Ola) operant a aap eet ee ae eee ge SS SL xII, 10, 39, 40, 72
aN
Hi Po Daa Ke Demy 201) Ye) be Pa ceo EO A ee ee eR el ge ge at ne gee a hh I XII
Toulouse, University of, cooperative agreement between Smithsonian
DMO VSG GOL A Wop pes 00 Lee a et een cp mp pL I 23
Traylor, James G., appointment clerk of the Institution______________ XI, 28
Treasurer and disbursing agent of the Institution -_______--_2 =) XI, XII
“crue. Webster By editorzotsthe ainstitution =e eee ee xi, 89
Vv
Vice President of the United States (member of the Institution) —~-_-_~ D0 fy Py 83
WwW
\WWwEKeoine oaenevel, (Onehdss) 1D, Ghevel Wkkray \Wibe ee 4, 92, 96
Wil cotts Mia rey? Ve UR ee ee ee ce ne ne a ee eee eee mS RG)
INDEX 497
Page
Waiker, Ernest P., assistant director, National Zoological Park________-_ >dor, aul
Vell Teena S1 OW Wah Vier eer ee ee a eae eee x11, 48
Wenley, Archibald G., assistant, Freer Gallery of Art_____-____________ XII
Wetmore, Dr. Alexander, assistant secretary of the Institution________ XI, XII,
8, 26, 28, 77, 99, 101, 102
Wilbur, Ray Lyman, Secretary of the Interior (member of the Institu-
GT OU) eS a a ee ee xI
Woman in Iroquois polity, The status of (Hewitt) ____________________ 475
Wood, Casey A. (Through forest and jungle in Kashmir and other parts
Of NOT tlio lr Cia) ee ee ee oe ee ee eee 307
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the newly formed, Some phases of
modern deep-sea oceanography, with a description of some of the
equipment andsmethodstom tne Giselin) = Ee 251
Y
BV VO LETC OF AAV TMD ED TNMs mes cs SEE ec SE ek Oe ee 98
WMounsers und) sEeClens WieolcOttes= == == a eee ea ee 3, 4, 92, 96
Z
ACL He Cetin Gh rances! Sarin Ck Ga eee es ee 4, 51, 92, 96
AQOogi cal Parke yNa tlon alas ae ee eee 1, 5, 6, 10, 11, 101
|B Ge) gS eee Stee Be gee OE eR A Ne RS a ee Taye RE Sl 75, 80
PERCE) OOD Ne Ia peace a ee ell pe te 51
GSU ANP Sa ec Be Us epee SO = ee XII
Py 1
fi Fh Hirer tnearsrtts ; val
“pees SCENTS ree Bo Stan
ite fr too aol iniiea® wah ane haere. Recs it
wie for Riese seo. N Be. ey Bie ‘aay C<..257 oe rm
eat fonredaiont) nist iek mat) ta aw
ghe “TE ‘ eee eles sil a a al anion 9 tee opin ana AS “ f . a :
ils ee coe SeMSt LAER! YS Serta) ld Seat zion % ji
ais Sat ey oT Renee ante OE eh ieee Diitictee Rite, stat ve i
woe ik ee SR Pou aoa es AL Cah ecigu ei at or
A ddEb er eenok homeo igtive a re t naliaiiel shaceacreaee
BE ee She “hin pa: ue dhe “idapery OhS70 Ie
pind Se sie nts eee Dit: cane nit 30 ahodiony hand
oe re “Tit ee eee, eae er ee eh een ce ie i
OR 9 ane ee ee ce eee eotaye jal viet
a d 2 X
Cm od EE a ta he te a py eae toa WH. gonna | Davies
ROE TIE OT iar mn nner, a | lee
tre hay Sea eset eects tech pel tt aes a Ge he ee ee eee en a ole re)
cr Se ee eT eee ae ey
ea
ves
~ eee
ry \
4 o Figs
y
, Tt ea) es ”
ie
F ce) ’
> a | ia oP: tp
” vee) n ee | j i
ra C 1
\ tn
ie : n .
ye _ vir if f ny eB :
cas Pal
7 7 \ ee
ny ra *, } a
(ie
os in in
}
i
if]
le Sy
ii
i
f ov
Ua
20
(NNN
3 9088 00944 9612
WANN
|
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11